frontline

June 19, 2016

We left Lekqungen Territory to cross the Salish Sea on the last day of May on our way to Lax U’u’la (Lelu Island) in Tsimshian territory. On our first day out of so called vancouver we stopped in at Ulluisc to deliver donated food supplies, cash donations and photographs to Christine Jack, the caretaker and protector of the mountains there. We were also able to sleep along the banks of Wedzin Kwah in the Gitemden Clan’s territory. Wedzin Kwah is the life giving river that flows through Wet’suwet’en territory and has been fiercely protected by hereditary leadership of the Unist’ot’en clan. Wedzin Kwah is a tributary to the Skeena river and we would eventually follow the Skeena along the highway of tears to the sea.

Lax U’u’la, is located at the mouth of the Skeena river. Adjacent to the island are the Flora Banks, an area made up of glacial silt from the last ice age where eelgrass flourishes. The Flora Banks and the eel grass that grows there is a crucial habitat for young Salmon smolts who as adults will run the Skeena river. The eelgrass provides shelter from the strong currents and tides while the smolts acclimatize to their new lives in saltwater and adult salmon re-adjust to begin their journey up the river. This is a place where one generation of salmon passes another. The straight next to Lax U’u’la teams with porpoises, humpback whales pass through the region and wolves hunt the deer who find bountiful food on the island. We were told the ancestors and wild spirits of the animals protect Lax U’u’la.

It is on this small marshy island, covered in berries, ancient cedars
and eagle’s nests that Petronas and Pacific North West LNG (PNW LNG)
scheme to build an export facility for gas fracked in the North East of
so called bc.

There are 8 facilities planned for the Tsimshian’s territories around colonial Prince Rupert.

In August of 2015 five Women of Haida, Gitxsan and Tsimshian descent, with the support of the Hereditary House Leader for the Gitwilgyoots tribe responsible for Lax U’u’la, began an occupation of the Island. Since that moment they have been offering their prayers, utilizing the medicines of the island, raising their children and going out onto the water to courageously stop the work of surveyors hired by PNW LNG. Many warriors and supporters have joined these women in their fight for the land, waters and air.

We were honoured to have the opportunity to sit down with Christie Brown in her home and talk about her experiences protecting Lax U’u’la and beginning the occupation. Once on the island we joined Goot Ges and her three children who harvest medicines there, offer prayers and join supporters in stopping industry on the water. We were able to assist with cooking meals for supporters, constructing a cedar smokehouse, building a composting toilet and joining patrols to protect the island.

If you are interested in learning more about Lax U’u’la you can check out their facebook page or this short documentary.

If you would like to support the Land Defenders who are out there protecting the salmon, waters, land and air there are two specific needs:

The first is for financial donations to fuel the boats necessary for patrols, and you can donate to the go fund me, or e-transfer funds through: Lelu_island@hotmail.com.

The second is a need for people to be out there on the land. Supporters are welcome and skills related to working collaboratively, navigating conflicts, care work, boating, cooking and construction are super helpful.

If you have questions about accessibility or anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact us!

xo beyon and wulfgang

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/we-left-lekqungen-territory-to-cross-the-salish/

June 8, 2016

At the offices of PNG the company who will inevitably fail to push through a liquid fracked gas export facility on the unceded Lax U’u’la territory also known as Lelu Island. RCMP have been increasing their pressure on the hereditary people the Gitwilgyoots clan and their supporters. Land Defenders protecting the territory went to industry offices today to pray and remind company representatives that they are breaking Tsimshian law. #fracking #nofracking #solidarity #landdefence #unceded #tsimshian #leluisland #protect #lng #voicesbook #indigenousresistance #frontline #warriors #nolng #indigenoussovereignty

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/at-the-offices-of-png-the-company-who-will/

May 31, 2016

Today we leave north to help with the effort on the frontline and to conduct our second interview of the project. our first stop is Ulluisc (Ooloosh), and then to Lax kw’alaams (lelu island) to drop off these totes full of items donated by 20 really wonderful people from the area. thankyou all so much for entrusting us with the delivery of these goods to the frontline!
Aid and Donations are as follows:
-cooler
-dried herbs and medicines hand harvested
-$350
-Coconut oil & First aid Supplies
-Ocean fishing gear
-Organization of a Supply Drive
-4 Rubbermade containers & home canned fruit
-bins
-more bins
-tarp
-Food and Homemade Salves
-Coffee & Camping supplies
-$75
-$100
-$60
-$50
-$160
You all rule. See you in a few weeks
– beyon wren moor
– Wulf Zapf

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/today-we-leave-north-to-help-with-the-effort-on/

May 29, 2016

PLEASE SHARE AND FOLLOW

Voices: Indigenous Women on the Front Lines Speak is many, many things involving many, many people.

Voices is the creation of a hand made, hand bound book and series of posters featuring interviews and illustrated portraits of Indigenous Women and Queer/Two-Spirit Land Defenders.

Voices is the process of traveling so called british columbia to front lines in support of Indigenous Land Defenders protecting their traditional and unceded territories. It is the strengthening of existing relationships and the growing of new ones. It is participating in resistance to the stranglehold of colonialism that threatens to destroy all of us.

Voices is an act of honouring the Indigenous Land Defenders who raise their children on the land, living their lives unwavering in the way of industrial expansion. Voices honours those who blaze the trails of what contemporary anti-capitalist and anti-colonial resistance can look like while teaching new/old ways of being in relationship to the land and each other.

Voices is Ulluisc, it is the Unist’ot’en Yintah, it is Meagan of the Lekwungen, it is Chipati Mountain and Ahausaht, it is Lax U’u’la.

Voices is possible through the willingness of Indigenous Women and Queer/Two-Spirit Land Defenders to share of themselves, it is possible through the love and support of our friends and chosen families who feed us, care for our hearts, offer their cars, accompany us to the front lines, provide materials and supplies, funds, grant editing, connections and advice. We are the multitude of the hands who hold us up.

Voices is an artistic collaboration and labour of love by beyon wren moor and Wulfgang Zapf.

In the fall of 2016 beyon and Wulfgang will travel to Halifax for a residency with Radstorm where they will hand make the book and posters.

The books and posters will be available for purchase in the Winter of 2016. A large run of Zines will be an accessible accompaniment to the hand made book. We will be touring Turtle Island to share our work after the Winter launch, we’d love to visit you.

All proceeds made from the books, posters and zines will go directly to the Land Defenders featured in this project.

** a note on the title. We made the decision to say only Women in the title and to not include the words two spirit and/or queer. One honest reason for this is it keeps the title shorter. We also mean to use Women in an expansive sense to include non-binary gender people as well. We have been engaged with the language we choose, and recognize that the english language is always lacking when describing and naming queerness and cultures outside of white settler culture. For us we felt we lost more by trying to get too specific with colonial words and boundaries then we gained. People’s own languages have important, powerful and beautiful words to describe gender and that many of these have been lost through the violence of colonialism. We wish we were able to use these words. We did not want to participate in further erasing those words by using colonial replacements as if the ‘queerness’ of Indigenous people can be properly addressed with a colonial word like queer or that the diversity of indigenous gender can be captured by an important yet often generalizing word like Two-Spirit. We recognize also that this decision acts to invisibilize queer/two-spirit indigenous people and that we end up using these words in order to say what we mean while lacking other words anyway. Deer ones, we are in process.

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/please-share-and-follow-voices-indigenous-women/