[Wamvan] Photos: No Mines No Pipelines on Native Land

[Harsha W.]

Photos: No Mines No Pipelines on Native Land

http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/photo/no-mining-native-land/8843


November 6, 2011 Unceded Coast Salish Territories- Indigenous communities
from across the province gathered in Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish
Territories this weekend to oppose destructive mining and pipeline
practices.

Over 400 people marched to oppose the Canadian Aboriginal Mining
Association’s conference being held at the Pan Pacific Hotel this week.
This pro-mining “Meeting Minds, Making Mines” Conference is seeking to
create economic certainty for mining corporations operating on
non-treatied unsurrendered native land. Grassroots Indigenous communities,
however, are opposing these plans and came together in the Second
Indigenous Assembly Against Mining and Pipelines.

The Assembly includes grassroots community members of the impacted
communities of the Saliammon, Secwepemc, Wet’suwet’en, St’at’imc,
Tsimshian, Dakelh, Carrier, Nuxalk, Tla-o-qui-aht, Haida Gwaii, Nak’azdli,
Nlaka’Pamux, Siksika, Ahousaht, Ktunaxa, and Sayisi Dene.

Statement from the Second Indigenous Assembly Against Mining and Pipelines:

The plans of Christy Clark and the BC government to push mining (including
eight new mines in four years) and pipeline developments into unceded
Indigenous territories will fail. We are opposing these plans and will be
protesting the Provincial and Federal Government for continually violating
inherent Aboriginal Rights and Title.

The BC government also hopes to proceed with a plan of signing ten
non-treaty agreements to create economic certainty for corporations. But
Clark’s government has no jurisdiction to pursue her economic agenda
without free, prior, and informed consent because we – grassroots
Indigenous peoples – legally, politically, economically, spiritually,
culturally, and inherently maintain Aboriginal title and jurisdiction over
our territories.

The promoters of the exclusive “Meeting Minds, Making Mines” Conference
give the false impression that mining has broad support from Indigenous
Peoples. But there are only a small number of Indigenous Peoples
benefiting from industrial developments. The meagre share of profits and
the few jobs that are promised by corporations and the government are not
worth the devastating impact on our water, salmon, food base, spiritual
sites, cultural well-being, traditional livelihoods, children and future
generations. Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately impacted by
industrial development with high rates of toxic waste, pollution and ill
health in our communities, as well as systemic poverty through the
encroachment into and destruction of our territories.

For this reason, we reject the short-term interests of profit that
motivates those mining and pipeline developments that are trespassing on
our unceded Indigenous lands. We are Indigenous People United Stopping
Pipelines and Mining!

(Photos compiled from members of the Indigenous Assembly)



-- 
Harsha Walia

https://twitter.com/HarshaWalia
https://www.facebook.com/nooneisillegal
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/author/dtes-power-women-group



-- 
Harsha Walia

https://twitter.com/HarshaWalia
https://www.facebook.com/nooneisillegal
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/author/dtes-power-women-group



-- 
Harsha Walia

https://twitter.com/HarshaWalia
https://www.facebook.com/nooneisillegal
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/author/dtes-power-women-group