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Where is the Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n blockade, and what鈥檚 it about?

The gated checkpoint is on a forest service road about 120 kilometers southwest of Smithers in Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n territory at the Morice River Bridge. Two natural-gas pipelines are to cross the bridge to serve LNG terminals in Kitimat. Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n is a clan within the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Nation.

Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs claim title to the land, based on their pre-Confederation occupation and the fact that they鈥檝e never signed a treaty. Their claim has not been proven in court.

The gated checkpoint is meant to control access to their traditional territory. A protocol for entry, based on principles of free, prior, and informed consent, is . While the first checkpoint was built by the Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n clan, all the hereditary chiefs of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Nation have affirmed that their consent is required prior to any development.

罢谤补苍蝉颁补苍补诲补鈥檚 will carry natural gas from Dawson Creek to Kitimat. It鈥檚 in the early construction phase. The proposed , run by Chevron, proposes to transport natural gas from Summit Lake to Kitimat for conversion to LNG. This pipeline received an environmental assessment certificate, but the investment agreement has yet to be finalized. (The Northern Gateway pipeline, run by Enbridge, was also planned to go through the region, but was scrapped in 2016.)

Hasn鈥檛 the Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n camp been around for years now? Why is it suddenly the center of attention?

Yes, the checkpoint was established on April 1, 2009. Since then, annual work camps have added a cabin, healing lodge, pit house, and bunkhouse for visitors. The camp is used year-round for healing retreats, culture camps, and living.

Coastal GasLink applied for an injunction in November 2018 because workers have been unable to cross the checkpoint to start clearing the pipeline route. The B.C. Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction in December, prohibiting anyone from blocking the bridge. The court also ordered the checkpoint to be dismantled within 72 hours.

A few photos from a few hours ago as RCMP moved in to enforce the injunction for Coastal GasLink

鈥� ChantelleBellrichard (@pieglue)

It鈥檚 in the news now because not only did Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n camp refuse to take down the checkpoint, but their neighboring clan, Gidimt鈥檈n, established a second checkpoint. (The on Jan. 4 to include that checkpoint.)

Throngs of people are traveling to join the camp in solidarity, and on Monday the聽Royal Canadian Mounted Police mobilized to enforce the injunction. in over 30 cities around the world today.

Who called in the RCMP to raid the camp?

The RCMP鈥檚 job is to enforce the injunction on behalf of the court, and it鈥檚 not necessarily raiding the camp. On Monday, tactical teams began to dismantle the Gidimt鈥檈n checkpoint. Last evening, RCMP reported 14 arrests of people who refused to comply with the court order. The individuals were taken to Houston, B.C.

As of Monday night the RCMP had breached the Gidimt鈥檈n blockade but had not reached the Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n blockade or camp. The Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n camp beside that blockade, which has been in operation for nearly 10 years, is not part of the order, and because it鈥檚 not in the way of construction access, can likely remain as is.

Today was a difficult day to witness. RCMP enforced an injunction to force them to give access to the Coastal GasLink pipeline that would deliver natural gas to the $40 bill, under construction expansion terminal in Kitimat.

鈥� Amber Bracken (@photobracken)

How is the B.C. government, which supports the LNG export terminal, reacting to the raid?

The government has not made an official statement, but Stikine MLA Doug Donaldson, minister of forests, lands, natural resource operations, and rural development, visited the Gidimt鈥檈n checkpoint Sunday. He arrived with a box of food in hand as a show of support and was admitted into the camp after going through the entry protocol with a Gidimt鈥檈n member.

Premier John Horgan is an enthusiastic supporter of the Kitimat LNG project. He has also vowed to implement the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which includes such principles as free, prior, and informed consent for activities on the territories of Indigenous people, the right not to be forcibly removed from traditional land, and the right to maintain connection to the land.

Aren鈥檛 the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n among the First Nations who have approved the pipeline?

It鈥檚 complicated. The elected chief and council signed the agreement, but the hereditary chiefs are opposed. The 13 hereditary chiefs argue that the elected chief only has jurisdiction over the band鈥檚 reserves, and that hereditary chiefs retain jurisdiction over the traditional territory where the checkpoint and camps are located.

The band with the elected council who have the reserve is called the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n First Nation. The hereditary chiefs are leaders of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Nation. The difference has been described like a municipal government versus the federal government. The two governance structures are different and have different jurisdictions. The elected council was established by the federal government when they made reserves. The hereditary chiefs are how the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Nation have always governed themselves.

Who are the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Nation?

The Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n clan is one of five clans that make up the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Nation. The camp is on their territory, and the injunction was initially filed against them, but five hereditary chiefs came to the checkpoint Monday to show their support and solidarity for resisting the pipeline. Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n traditional territory spans 22,000 square kilometers in northwest B.C. west of Smithers.

How are First Nations leaders in B.C. and Canada reacting?

Some First Nations leaders support the Coast GasLink pipeline, including a chief from the Skin Tyee band, which is part of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n First Nation. Up to 20 First Nations (including the elected council of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n First Nation, as noted earlier) have signed agreements with the pipeline. Agreements provide opportunities for work and training on the job.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs released a condemning the RCMP鈥檚 tactics of 鈥渋ntimidation, harassment and ongoing threats of forceful intervention and removal of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n land defenders from Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n unceded territory.鈥�

What do the people at the checkpoint facing arrest say?

Freda Huson is one of the people named in the injunction. She works at the healing lodge at the Unist鈥檕t鈥檈n camp.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 agree with the injunction because they didn鈥檛 hear our side, and we have too much to lose. We don鈥檛 want them to say that we can be in a reservation and stay in my buildings here, but they can destroy the rest of the territory,鈥� Huson said in a on Monday.

鈥淚鈥檓 here now because this is my home, this is where I live. This is an unjust system that we live in. My people have been pushed aside, pushed aside for hundreds of years. And it hasn鈥檛 stopped, it鈥檚 still happening right now. My people live off these lands.

鈥淭he gate is for our protection. We had racists coming in and shooting rifles, ramming my gate with vehicles, and using explosives to blow up my gate. And the police in Houston know, and they did nothing about it. They said not enough evidence.

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on Jan 9, 2019 at 7:55am PST

鈥淎nd now the state. I blame Justin Trudeau, John Horgan. If you guys are listening to this, you guys are behind this project. You guys are behind approving these police to come in and treat me like a criminal. And all I am doing is living on my lands that my clan has title and rights to. You say reconciliation? This is not reconciliation. You鈥檙e treating my chiefs and us as criminals. We鈥檙e not criminals. This is our land.鈥�

When people say this could be 鈥渁nother Gustafsen Lake,鈥� what do they mean?

The happened in the summer of 1995 in the Secwepemec (Shuswap) region. A Sundance ceremony, which takes a month to complete, was being held when relations with a rancher who claimed ranging rights over the land turned hostile.

The standoff began Aug. 18 and ended Sept. 17. More than 400 RCMP officers, supported by military advisers, blockaded the camp. Landmines were used to block access, police were heavily armed, and helicopters and airplanes were used for surveillance. The police operation cost more than $4.5聽million.

No one died in the standoff, although tens of thousands of shots were fired and two people were wounded.

The Sundancers surrendered, and 18 people were charged with trespassing. RCMP tactics鈥攊ncluding a smear campaign to spread misinformation about the Sundancers鈥攚ere criticized during the court proceedings. Fifteen people were found guilty, mainly of tresspass, and jailed.

The fear in this case is that the RCMP will employ similar tactics. Officers have set up an exclusion zone around the area, as they did during Gustafsen Lake.

This story was updated on Jan. 10, 2019, at 7:45 p.m. to correct and clarify distinctions between the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Nation and the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n First Nation.

This article was originally published by . It has been published here with permission.