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B.C. First Nations plan large demonstration to stop Kinder Morgan pipeline

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B.C. First Nations plan large demonstration to stop Kinder Morgan pipeline

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B.C. First Nations groups are hoping to throw another wrench in Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline by amassing Indigenous people and their supporters on Burnaby Mountain to further delay the project.

Members of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation are calling for a mass demonstration on Burnaby Mountain in March. They expect hundreds of Indigenous people and their supporters to join from across Canada.

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep this beautiful British Columbia," said Cedar George, a member of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation. His community directly faces Burnaby, one of the cities that Trans Mountain's pipeline expansion will go through.

He says a spill could negatively impact his people's traditional diet and way of life and while the provincial government has already delayed the project, he wants to be sure it doesn't go ahead at all.

In a statement, Trans Mountain told the CBC: "We support the right to peacefully and lawfully express opinions and views about our Project, and we understand that not everyone supports the expansion."

It added "we're confident we can build and operate this Project in a way that respects the values and priorities of Canadians and in respect of the environment."

For George though, it's not a matter of if a spill happens, but when.

"Ninety per cent of our diet came from that water. We are being stewards of the land and when we see an immediate threat to the water, it's time for us to stand up and delay this project," George said.

'Indication of last resort'

George says he was asked by spiritual leaders and elders in his community to do something to stop the pipeline and says they've been doing ceremonies for two years since the pipeline was approved.

On Tuesday, members of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation launched a volunteer recruitment drive via a network of Indigenous communities, environmental groups and concerned Canadians.

One of the groups supporting the action is the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. Bob Chamberlin is the chief councillor for the Kwikwasut'inuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation and vice president of the UBCIC.

He says demonstrations like this are a last resort for First Nations people.

"It's at a point of exasperation of engaging in due diligence with government. We are constantly pointing to the government's lack of embracing its very own laws," Chamberlin said.

He says governments need to uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and adhere to the notions of Indigenous rights to free, prior and informed consent.

The federal government approved the 1,147-kilometre pipeline project in November 2016. The detailed route approval process will determine the exact placement of the new pipeline.

The project is currently on hold until the route is approved. The B.C. government, meanwhile, has proposed to restrict any increase in diluted bitumen shipments until it conducts more spill response studies. The Alberta government has called for an immediate boycott of B.C. wine in retaliation.

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'I'll do whatever it takes': B.C. First Nations planning 'mass' demonstration to stop Kinder Morgan pipeline

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B.C. First Nations groups are hoping to throw another wrench in Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline by amassing Indigenous people and their supporters on Burnaby Mountain to further delay the project. Members of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation are calling for a mass demonstration on Burnaby Mountain in March.

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'The Highway' Music Video Raises Awareness For Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women

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'The Highway' Music Video Raises Awareness For Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women

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Students from a B.C. First Nation created a heartbreaking music video about missing and murdered indigenous women.

The song called "The Highway" was penned by students at the 'Na Aksa Gyilak'yoo School in Kitsumkalum First Nation, just outside of Terrace in northern B.C.

Students hold hands in a still from "The Highway." (Screengrab: Nwe Jinan/YouTube)

The video that accompanies the ballad shows a girl who hitchhikes on Highway 16 - nicknamed the "Highway of Tears," for the high number of women that have disappeared along the route over the past 50 years - while the teens sing about resilience and their community's strength.

"I'm bothered by how my nation has been bullied and controlled, living here has been so hard and there's a road that leads to tears," raps one student.

"The Highway" was produced by N'we Jinan, a non-profit organization that aims to encourage First Nations youth to express themselves through the arts. The group brings a mobile recording studio into schools, where participants can learn about sound recording and music production.

"Within the studios' residency, original songs are created containing messages that focus on cultural identity, language, struggle, love and self acceptance," reads the program's website.

Watch "The Highway" above.

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'The Highway' Music Video Raises Awareness For Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women

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Students from a B.C. First Nation created a heartbreaking music video about missing and murdered indigenous women. The song called "The Highway" was penned by students at the 'Na Aksa Gyilak'yoo School in Kitsumkalum First Nation, just outside of Terrace in northern B.C. Students hold hands in a still from "The Highway."

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UBC Raises Reconciliation Totem Pole To Honour Residential School Victims, Survivors

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UBC Raises Reconciliation Totem Pole To Honour Residential School Victims, Survivors

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VANCOUVER - A 17-metre totem pole installed at the University of British Columbia is a permanent reminder of the strength and resilience of the countless children victimized by the residential school system, one survivor said.

Elder Barney Williams used his remarks to a crowd gathered Saturday for the raising of the totem pole to talk about his experience of being raped and abused at a residential school on Meares Island, B.C.

"This is real folks, this is not something we make up because we want sympathy,'' he said.

The mistreatment of generations of indigenous people, he said, is a "Canadian problem, not just a First Nations problem.''

A man hammers a copper nail into the Reconciliation Pole before its raising at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on Saturday, April 1, 2017. The 17-metre red cedar pole tells the story of the time before, during and after the Indian residential school system. (Photo: Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Residential school survivor Pauline Jones, 73, stops to touch the Reconciliation Pole before its raising at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on Saturday. (Photo: Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
The Reconciliation Pole, carved by Haida Nation hereditary chief James Hart, honours the victims and survivors of Canada's residential school system.

Hart said indigenous artists from across Canada contributed to carving the pole, recognizing the extent of the torment that the schools inflicted.

"This is real folks, this is not something we make up because we want sympathy."
- Elder Barney Williams, residential school survivor

"It's not about me, it's about all of us,'' he said.

The pole was carved from a 800-year-old red cedar tree on B.C.'s north coast. It's marked by thousands of copper nails representing the thousands of indigenous children who died in residential schools.

It's designed in three sections, representing life before residential schools, during and after, Hart said.

People gather to watch as a totem pole is raised in the spirit of reconciliation at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on Saturday. (Photo: Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
The pole located at the heart of the Vancouver campus, at the future site of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre that is slated to open in the 2017-2018 academic year.

Williams said it's more than just a symbol but an element of First Nations' culture and legacy that has endured despite the attempts of the residential school system to wipe out their traditions.

"It's part of a celebration that says 'I'm still here, we're still here.' We weren't beaten down to the point where we became non-existent,'' he said in an interview.

Adina Williams, a second-year student at the University of B.C. who is not related to Barney Williams, called the installation of the pole a "beginning'' and said she hopes it teaches people about Canada's dark history.

A young First Nations girl watches as a Reconciliation Pole is raised at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. (Photo: Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
She said her father spent seven years in a residential school, yet growing up, she never learned about the system.

"Throughout my years in high school and elementary school, there was very little acknowledgment of the residential school system. I think we spent a day on it in my social studies class in high school,'' she said in an interview.

She said she hopes that's changing, and with the university adding this monument to the campus, there will be more awareness about the abuse people endured.

"It makes me feel like that part of our history is being acknowledge, that the truth part of reconciliation is being known,'' she said.
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UBC Raises Reconciliation Totem Pole To Honour Residential School Victims, Survivors

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VANCOUVER - A 17-metre totem pole installed at the University of British Columbia is a permanent reminder of the strength and resilience of the countless children victimized by the residential school system, one survivor said.

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B.C. Elects Record Number Of Indigenous MLAs

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B.C. Elects Record Number Of Indigenous MLAs

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British Columbians elected a record four indigenous MLAs Tuesday in a tense vote that brought in the province's first minority government in 65 years.

Melanie Mark, the NDP candidate who made history last year as the first female MLA from a First Nation, won her seat again in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant.

Melanie Mark, MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, smiles during a swearing-in ceremony at the B.C. legislature on Feb. 17, 2016.
The mother-of-two is of Nisga'a, Gitxsan, Cree and Ojibway descent. She overcame a tough childhood of poverty and sexual abuse to become an advocate for children on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

She continued to campaign for the underprivileged, focusing on housing and child care in this election.
Former B.C. NDP leader re-elected
The B.C. NDP's former leader, Carole James, was elected in a fourth straight victory to represent Victoria-Beacon Hill.

"It's overwhelming to once again have the confidence of the people of Victoria, it's humbling," she told The Times Colonist on Tuesday, adding she will fight for B.C.ers "regardless of which side of the legislature we're on."

Carole James, the former leader of the B.C. NDP, was re-elected Tuesday for the fourth time in her riding Victoria-Beacon Hill.
James was born in England and her father is Métis from Saskatchewan. Her husband, First Nations artist Albert Gerow is also chief of the Burns Lake First Nation.

She previously served five terms as president of the B.C. School Trustees Association and spent 20 years fostering kids and adults with special needs.
'My life's work has been getting First Nations to the table'
First-time contender Ellis Ross took the riding of Skeena for the B.C. Liberals, who last held the seat in 2005. Ross has served as chief councillor of the Haisla Nation and was the first chair of the province's Aboriginal Business and Investment Council.

"My life's work has been getting First Nations to the table with industry and government, so that all British Columbians can benefit from economic development," Ross said on the B.C. Liberal Party website.

Ellis Ross, the B.C. Liberal candidate in Skeena riding speaks to supporters in Kitimat, B.C. on April 13, 2017.
As a supporter of LNG development, Ross felt his campaign promise of creating jobs resonated with voters, reported the Terrace Standard.

"I could really feel the anxiety in the Skeena riding. People didn't want to leave and go to Alberta for jobs. That's one reason why I did this," he said in a speech to supporters.
Fought against LNG project
In Saanich North and the Islands, Adam Olsen was elected for the B.C. Greens in one of the closest races in the province.

Olsen was raised on the Tsartlip First Nation and served as a municipal councillor in Central Saanich. According to the Times Colonist, he credited an 18-month stint as interim party leader for readying him for his new MLA job.

Greens across BC have so much 2 celebrate tonight. We are now the first green caucus in North America! Thank you Vancouver Island! 5/5
- Adam Olsen (@AdamPOlsen) May 10, 2017

The father-of-two led an effort against the proposed Malahat LNG project, writing that it's, "bad for our local environment, it's bad for tourism, it's bad for food harvesting, bad for real estate, bad for climate change."

Adam Olsen is the B.C. Green Party's newly-elected MLA for Saanich North and the Islands.
Last year, B.C. had three sitting MLAs of indigenous heritage: Mark, James, and Marc Dalton.

Tuesday's provincial results saw the ruling B.C. Liberal party capturing 43 seats to the NDP's 41. The B.C. Greens picked up three seats, a major breakthrough for the party that previously held just one.

The 2015 federal vote that brought Prime Minister Justin Trudeau into power also saw a record number of indigenous representatives elected. Ten indigenous candidates became MPs, representing three per cent of the House of Commons.
With files from the Canadian Press
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B.C. Election 2017 Brings In Record Number Of Indigenous MLAs

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British Columbians elected a record four indigenous MLAs Tuesday in a tense vote that brought in the province's first minority government in 65 years. Melanie Mark, the NDP candidate who made history last year as the first female MLA from a First Nation, won her seat again in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant.