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Update from Gidimt’en Checkpoint

Wet’suwet’en Evict Coastal GasLink from Drill Site and Re-Establish Coyote Camp

Early Sunday, December 19, Gidimt’en land defenders evicted Coastal GasLink (CGL) workers from a key pipeline drill site and re-established Coyote Camp at the site to prevent CGL from drilling under the Wedzin Kwa (river).

The blockade was re-established one month after it had been dismantled by the RCMP on November 19. At that time approximately 100 RCMP equipped with assault weapons, sniper rifles, and dogs had been deployed against the land defenders, while floodwaters raged throughout BC, to facilitate construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline and the theft of sovereign Wet’suwet’en land.

In two days of militarized police raids in November, 30 people, including land defenders, journalists, and legal observers were arrested. This attack was the third large-scale militarized operation on unceded Wet’suwet’en land since 2019.

In early 2020, the Hereditary Chiefs from all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en nation stood together and issued an eviction notice to CGL. That eviction remains in force today.

Wet’suwet’en people have never surrendered their hereditary lands, and affirm that they never will. A news release on the re-establishment of Coyote Camp, quotes spokesperson for the Gidimt’en Checkpoint, Sleydo’: “Coastal GasLink does not and will never have the consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary governance system and should expect that Wet’suwet’en law will prevail on our lands. No amount of state violence against us will make us forget our responsibility to protect the water for all future generations.”

The press release further states, “Our lands are not for sale, and the safety of our waters is non-negotiable. We are calling for supporters to join us on the ground, or take action where you stand.”

The December 19 action follows the 24th anniversary of the December 11, 1997 Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa court ruling, which proved that Aboriginal title has never been extinguished across 58,000 km2 of Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan lands. The Supreme Court of Canada recognized the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs as representatives of the Wet’suwet’en title holding collective, and Anuc’nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law) as the basis of Wet’suwet’en society.

In violation of the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa ruling, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Anuc’nu’at’en, the Coastal GasLink pipeline has proceeded without the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs. This will not pass!

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