Conservation North stands in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people and their hereditary chiefs. We support the Wet’suwet’en’s right to govern their traditional territory following their own laws and protocols.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) states that “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous peoples concerned and agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.” Given that both the provincial and federal governments have supported UNDRIP, their use of force and blatant disregard for Aborignal title is unacceptable.

Conservation North sends our deepest gratitude to the Wet’suwet’en, including the Unist’ot’en and the Gidimt’en, who are protecting these lands through peaceful resistance and direct action. We see that our government continues to operate through a colonial lens and appears to be  treating their commitments to UNDRIP and Truth and Reconciliation as hollow tokens.

Therefore, in solidarity we echo the demands of the Wet’suwet’en (see: http://unistoten.camp/wetsuweten-hereditary-chiefs-no-access-without-consent/), and call on the Province of BC and the Government of Canada to:

-Respect Wet’suwet’en sovereignty and jurisdiction;

-Immediately halt the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline project;

-Immediately remove the RCMP from Wet’suwet’en territory, and end unlawful surveillance and criminalization of all Indigenous land and water protectors.

Every Canadian has a role to play. Please see the Unist’ot’en Camp website (http://unistoten.camp/) to learn more and to find out how you can provide support and solidarity.