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Gitxsan Treaty Society supports Enbridge, Gitxsan community opposes pipeline
By Tyler McCreary | Rabble.ca
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Read this blog post on the originating site
On Friday, Dec. 2, Gitxsan Hereditary Chief Elmer Derrick and Enbridge Executive Vice-President Janet Holder publicly signed an equity agreement. The $7-million deal allegedly cemented Gitxsan support for Enbridge's controversial proposed $5.5-billion tar sands pipeline project. However, within hours dissent was visible in the community and by Monday night a new community consensus against the project was emerging.
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, as it is known, would involve the construction of two 1,170 kilometre pipelines from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. Enbridge, and the Canadian and Albertan governments, have argued that project is a national strategic asset which would ensure that Canadian tar sands exports can access energy-hungry Asian markets.
Critics have vehemently opposed the project as an unwarranted and unjustifiable risk to local ecosystems. Aboriginal peoples and environmentalists have suggested that an accident is not a possibility but an inevitability. A report released last week by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pembina Institute, and Living Oceans Society suggested that the pipeline and associated coastal tanker traffic would compromise salmon habitat, rich coastal waters, as well as First Nations traditional livelihoods and economic well-being. Katie Terhune of the Living Oceans Society clearly stated their concern: "It is not a question of if, but when, a spill will happen."
First Nations, whose unceded territory encompasses the vast majority of British Columbia, have strongly asserted that the government does not have the jurisdiction to approve this pipeline without their consent. A united front among Aboriginal communities has developed against the movement of tar sands oil through their territories. On Dec. 1, in a Vancouver ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the Save the Fraser Declaration, several additional First Nations signed on expanding public opposition to more than 130 Aboriginal communities.
When Elmer Derrick signed the equity agreement with Enbridge the following day, a break appeared to be forming in the wall of First Nations opposition. A negotiator for the Gitxsan Treaty Society, Derrick said he acted on the authority of the chiefs, speaking for a majority of them. In a video released by Enbridge, vice-president Holder suggested that "the public needs to understand there isn't as much opposition as they may believe." She continued, "truly we do have First Nations support all through British Columbia and Alberta."
In a news release "on behalf of the Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs," Derrick claimed, "we have established a relationship of trust with Enbridge, we have examined and assessed this project, and we believe it can be built and operated safely." Explaining Gitxsan Treaty Society's decision, Derrick said, "the young people were telling us that there's no hope for them.... They cannot eat Gitxsan's title and rights. And that's the problem." He suggested signing the deal with Enbridge offered "a way to change title and rights into economic opportunities."
However, while people cannot eat abstract legal formulations like Aboriginal title and rights, they can and do eat salmon. In fact, salmon has long been the mainstay of the Gitxsan people. The salmon fishery remains a yearly ritual, as it has for generations. Children learn their stories and traditions working alongside their grandmothers in the smokehouse. Salmon is the heart of the people.
Tagged with: pipeline, first nations, enbridge, northern gateway, british columbia, gitxsan
