Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs return home after Canada-wide tour of First Nations

Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs opposed to a natural gas pipeline under construction in northern British Columbia have concluded an 18-day tour across Canada aimed at building solidarity with other Indigenous groups over shared concerns about land ownership and consent to development.

The Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline project is a $6.6-billion, 670-kilometre pipeline that will deliver natural gas from the Dawson Creek area in northern B.C. to a liquefaction facility in Kitimat. It's part of a $40-billion LNG Canada project.

The province and all 20 elected First Nations councils along the route, including Wet'suwet'en elected council, approved the construction, but Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs say the project needed their consent too.

They point out Wet'suwet'en law predates colonization and the creation of the Indian Act, which means it is their traditional governance systems that should determine what happens within 22,000 square kilometres of unceded territory in northwestern B.C.

Nation-to-nation meetings

The tour was launched Aug. 2 in Ontario, where the Wet'suwet'en chiefs met with Haudenosaunee hereditary chiefs outside a traditional longhouse on Six Nations of the Grand River, in Ontario. 

"We view these landmark discussions as not just discussions but real action-oriented, real logical starting points … toward something that's going to be working for all of us," said Hereditary Chief Woos (Frank Alec) of the Grizzly House with the Gidimt'en Clan in B.C.

"We need to spread a message of peace and unity."

They also met with Kahnawà:ke leaders near Montreal, and members of the Hollow Water First Nation in Winnipeg, where there is opposition to a proposed silica sand mine.

Kateri Saabe Ikwe Phillips from Hollow Water First Nation spoke at the event, drawing parallels between the work being done by both groups.

"To stand together in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en and Camp Morningstar is very important just to show to others that we're still here, that we are still fighting, and that we are still speaking up for the land."

Court dates loom as tour concludes in Prince George

On Monday, the chiefs were in Vancouver, where they led a group of about 100 supporters on a march from city hall and across the Cambie Bridge to raise awareness about their cause in the province's largest city.

Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chief Namoks (John Ridsdale) said a drill pad site has been built on one side of the Wedzin Kwa, or Morice River, which members of his nation depend on, and that they will try to prevent the pipeline company from drilling under it.

The group concluded their tour in Prince George on Thursday, and are now returning to their territory for a 10-day ceremony.

The tour ends as legal action looms over the group.

In late June of this year, members of the Wet'suwet'en Nation sued the RCMP and Coastal GasLink for alleged harassment by police and private security.

In June and July, the Crown announced criminal contempt charges against 19 people involved in blockading access to a pipeline work camp.

Construction continues

Meanwhile, construction of the pipeline is nearing completion.

The pipeline would transport natural gas from Dawson Creek in northeastern B.C. to Kitimat on the province's north coast.

An update posted to the Coastal GasLink website in late July says the project is 66 per cent complete overall, with 58.5 per cent of the construction finished.

The update shows nearly 97 per cent of the route along the Morice River southwest of Houston has been cleared, with 14 per cent of grading completed.

The update says pipeline has yet to be installed along that 77-kilometre stretch, while half has so far been installed in the final section toward Kitimat, and just over 32 per cent has been installed in the 86-kilometre section to the east, stretching toward Burns Lake.