Anti-Mining is Anti-Pipelines and Anti-War!!

The resistance against mining in Wet’suwet’en Territories by the Grassroots Wet’suwet’en is increasingly important to future generations and the biodiversity that we are all a part of. The last remaining healthy water bodies and lands are under threat at present with a bombardment of proposals to mine the lands and create tailings ponds in these last remaining lakes that still feeds the poeples today.

The Unis’tot’en Clan is resisting the mine applications from Lions Gate Metals in their territories at Tacestohlhen (Poplar Lake) approximately 64 kilometers south of Houston BC. The current explorations of these lands is unwanted by the Unis’tot’en people and they do not want their traditional lands to be decimated by Open Pit Mining for molybdenum or copper and the lake to become a tailings pond. This lake still sustains Char. The Wet’suwet’en had harvested Char for their livelihood in many lakes. This is one of the last remaining lakes with Char and clean water.

The Lihkts’amisyu Clan is resisting explorations and Open Pit in their sacred site along what is known on the Highway 16 as Hungry Hill, approximately 20 kms West of Houston BC. This exploration is conducted by Imperial Metals.

The explorations are being conducted by Lions Gate Metals, and Bard Ventures, and Rugged Edge Explorations. The drilling is unwanted because even the explorations phase is impacting the poeples lands and their sovereignty. The Wet’suwet’en Peoples lands are Unceded, but Occupied by BC and Canada. The factors involved is that they are not being given a choice by government ministries and industrial companies. The Canadian encroachment on traditional lands for ‘resource extraction’ while disregarding the resistance from the Indigenous peoples ignores rights and title and that the Original peoples have a responsibility to the lands.

The unwanted mining is among many other unwanted mining projects and proposals in Unceded Occupied Lands of many other Original Peoples neighbouring the Wet’suwet’en. The resistance being built against mining, pipelines, colonization, is being criminalized. It is in fact in the national best interest of settlers to decolonize their processes and to see their leaders begin to operate with Free Prior and Informed Consent.

Subscribers to the volumes of minerals with these projects is a big question mark. The new unconventional oil and gas industry requires higher tensility in the metals they use for infrastructure for corrosive Tar Sands bitumen and diluent (under pressure and heat) to flow through pipelines. The folks who claim to be anti-pipelines but are pro-mining are doing themselves a disservice as this large influx of mining would facilitate the construction of pipelines to be laid in the ground and facilitate the expansion of Tar Sands and Hydrofracturing Shale Gas projects.

Other Subscribers to this massive influx of mining includes the military expansion in a war ridden world all in the name of the almighty dollar. This dangerous activity brings to mind the war in the middle east to acquire conventional oil. The wars in the corporate media, and the militant combative wars in these countries must stop. So why would we want to unearth more minerals to assist the biggest enemy to our Earth Mother’s longevity; Oil, Gas, and War, when we have a conscious decision to make in terms of protecting our relationship with our world around us, by any means necessary.

The unwanted mining factor is global. We as the Grassroots Wet’suwet’en stand in solidarity with our neighbours near and far who resist unwanted mining, oil and gas, and wars. There are mining companies in Canada who conduct human rights violations in Guatamala, Papua New Guinea, Chile, and Ecuador, among many others, including Barrick Gold and Goldcorp. These mining executives would walk past our people and possibly smile at one of us, while attempting to send paramilitary repressing the peoples just like us in South America and Guatamala, and other parts of the world.

The Unis’tot’en and Lihkts’amisyu clans will stop attempts to actually build their open pit mines in their lands. It is of the rest of the Wet’suwet’en peoples’ best interest to abandon colonial practices and readopt their own ideologies presented to us by our ancestral warriors, chiefs, healers, and leaders. We must return to Natural Laws and keep them integral.

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