Unist'ot'en File Legal Action Against Coastal GasLink Archaeological Plan
Land in area known as Camp 9A where artifacts were found in February
2019.
The Unist'ot'en House group, a.k.a. Dark House, has
filed
an application for judicial review in the BC Supreme Court in
relation to the proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline project. The
judicial review challenges the decision of the BC Oil and Gas
Commission (BCOGC) and provincial Archaeology Branch to accept an
archaeological mitigation plan prepared by Coastal GasLink
without undertaking any consultation with Dark House.
On February 13, several lithic stone tools were
found on
Dark House territory within the portion of the proposed project
known as Camp 9A. In total, six artifacts were recovered,
including two biface projectile points, three projectile point
fragments, and a core fragment.
Camp 9A is indisputably within Wet'suwet'en territory
and subject
to
their Aboriginal title and rights. Collectively, these artifacts
are important evidence confirming the longstanding use and
occupation of Wet'suwet'en people in the area. As such, Coastal
GasLink continues to disturb a significant archaeological site
that informs Wet'suwet'en history, occupancy, and potential
evidence for rights and title.
 Since the artifacts were
first discovered, Dark House
has
repeatedly asked both the Archaeology Branch and the BCOGC to
consult about the protection and preservation of the disturbed
archaeological site, and the high potential for other sites to be
impacted by Coastal Gaslink given that no impact assessment was
conducted in
the territory. Despite this, the Commission and Archaeology
Branch accepted Coastal GasLink's mitigation plan for the
archaeological sites and authorized work in Camp 9A to resume
without consulting Dark House. To date, no attempt has been made
to include Unist'ot'en people in the archaeological work
conducted on their own territory.
Dark House's archaeologist has identified a number of
significant deficiencies with the plan, and has consulted with
Dark House hereditary leaders concerned about the loss and destruction
of their cultural inheritance. Due to the decision of the
Archaeology Branch and the BCOGC to approve Coastal GasLink's
mitigation plan without consultation, there is a serious risk
that Wet'suwet'en culture and heritage will be damaged or
destroyed.
Dark House made the decision to file the judicial review
in
order to protect its territory and cultural heritage in
accordance with Wet'suwet'en law, and to ensure that the Crown's
constitutional obligations are fulfilled.
"We expect, as we always have, that our Aboriginal
rights and
laws are respected. It is unacceptable for the Crown to continue
to act through its agents in ways that completely dismiss and
ignore the duty to consult with us on matters related to our
unceded traditional territories. The Province's willful refusal
to honour us on a Nation-to-Nation level condones the destruction
of vestiges our ancestors left that maintain their presence on
our Yintah [Territory]. It marks another example of continued
oppression and
violence against the First Peoples of this land. We aim to hold
Canada accountable through its legal system, and with this
judicial review we are giving Canadian courts an opportunity to
uphold justice, and honour its own laws," stated Dr. Karla Tait,
Dark House Member & Healing Centre Director of Clinical
Programming.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 19 - May 25, 2019
Article Link:
Unist'ot'en File Legal Action Against Coastal GasLink Archaeological Plan
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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