Voices

Indigenous Women on the Front Lines Speak

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finally an update! <3

Hello Lovelies,

As autumn settles in deep and we approach the darkest day and longest night of the year we’re happy to have found time to share with you all. 

Amidst the cold the fires of resistance are burning bright and fucking hot all over Turtle Island.

We continue to feed those fires.

About two weeks ago deer beyon traveled south and east to bring supporters to Standing Rock.  Beyon has joined water protectors and is throwing down and supporting the fight for water, land and life in solidarity with the Sioux Nation. After, she is on her way to their other home in so called Massachusetts to work on the illustrations for the book.

Here on Lekwungen Territory, Wulfie, has been fighting the eventual demoviction from their home, and is joining with a growing movement in the city against displacement connecting processes of ongoing colonialism, homelessness and gentrification.  Work continues here to support front lines through raising funds, care work and solidarity actions.

If you are not able to make it to Standing Rock yourself and are wondering how you can support Indigenous Land Defenders here’s an update on what some of our friends, the incredible Women and Two-Spirit Land Defenders we are working with on the Voices Project, are up to.

Queen Sacheen and her partner Crow have been holding it down with the Red Warrior Camp for well over a month now… going on two!  If you are able to send this Grandma, Medicine Maker, Media Ninja and Front Line Warrior a little love this December it would be hugely appreciated.  Best gift idea we can think of 🙂 

You can sign up to support Sacheen with a monthly donation here!

Our deer love Goot-Ges is gathering resources for spring time land defense while continuing her work protecting the Oceans from Fracked Gas export, raising babies and finishing a book.

You can support her work by purchasing any photography print or purchasing any art by Goot-Ges from our storenvy.

We’ll update y’all on more ways to support Indigenous Resistance and the Protection of Land and Waters in the coming days.  And encourage your fams and friends to give big because warriors on the front lines are throwing down for all of us and our future generations!

Lots of love darlings.

Wulfie and beyon.

xoxo

UNBC Livestream | University of Northern British Columbia

UNBC Livestream | University of Northern British Columbia

Watch the live stream of a panel discussion with Freda Huson, Helen Knot and Goot-Ges!  2pm today!

**ONLINE STORE NOW OPEN**

**ONLINE STORE NOW OPEN**

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ARTWORK BY BEYON WREN MOOR FOR SALE!
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WÜLFGANG ZAPF FOR SALE!

• Screen Printed Shirts & Patches

• High Quality Poster Prints

• Photographic Prints 

• Giclée Prints

(funds raised go directly to indigenous women and two-spirit land defenders on the frontlines)

On August 25th we drove out of Lekwungen Territory to go visit our friend Sacheen, a Grandmother, medicine maker, traditional midwife, writer and unwavering land defender. 

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Sacheen and her husband Crow, of Ancestral Pride and the Yaakswiis warriors  live in the village of Ahousaht on so-called Flores Island with three of their children.  The village is a short boat ride from the yuppie surfer tourist bon-iver listening culturally appropriative hell of Tofino.  Surrounded by the ocean and one of the last standing temperate rain forests still intact Ahousaht is watched over by Chitapii Mountain from across the waves.

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We arrived a few days after Sacheen, Crow, their niece Havannah and friend Lenny, all Ahousaht members, were arrested for attempting to stop the restocking of a Cermaq fish farm.  This fish farm was the site where over a million fish were culled when it was shut down in 2012 due to risk of disease spreading to wild fish.  Fish farms are responsible for devastating Wild Salmon runs particularly in the Fraser River.  This has had terrible impacts on dozens of communities not just along the coast, but the whole length of the river.  The corporations responsible are heavily subsidized and protected by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the ‘federal government’ of so-called canada.

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After spending the night catching up and preparing for the next day we all threw down with a demo at the DFO in solidarity with those arrested for defending their land.  The DFO was shut down for the day due to the presence of Land Defenders and their supporters.  Those arrested were present and affirmed that although RCMP had forced them to sign conditions they would not back down in the defense of Wild Salmon.

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Upon returning home to Ahousaht we arrived to a dozen wild salmon gifted to Sacheen and Crow for their protection of land, waters and life.  We spent the next dozen hours together processing and canning these life giving fish.  Salmon are a crucial species for the ecosystems of which they are apart.  They are also a primary food for many people all over Turtle Island.  The destruction of our relationships to the animals and plants that are our foods is a form of colonialism and genocide that goes back to the very beginnings of the occupation of turtle island.  It escapes none of us that the destruction of wild salmon is similar to the slaughter of the buffalo. 

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The rains came as we visited and most of our days were spent playing with Chevayo, Sacheen and Crows youngest, making big meals for the dozen of us in the house while sharing stories and planning for continued resistance to both Fish Farms and Imperial Metals a company with mineral rights to Chitapii mountain.  The rain did let up enough so that we were able to explore the beaches and forests and harvest black berries, huckleberries, blueberries and cranberries.

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Sacheen and her family live resistance each and every day.  It is not a job or something that can ever be put down and returned too.  It is always such a gift to spend time with this family who are so dear to our hearts and to join in resistance to the corporations, whether industry or the so-called government of canada that threaten their lives and home. 

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If you too are interested in supporting Sacheen and her families work we suggest signing up for a monthly donation through their website.  We all know the monthly hustle to pay to live is real especially when we have people dependent on us and our contributions to relieve Sacheen and Crow of this monthly hustle is a huge strength to our collective movement towards liberation.

Make a monthly donation.

You can also support the campaign Imperial No More.

…and learn more about Ancestral Pride’s work on their website.

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Lastly if you live nearby we’re planning a big bus ride with some pals to head up to Tofino for Sacheen, Crow, Lenny and Havannah’s court date on November 7th.  If you interested shoot us an email as we would love to have you join us.

xo beyon and Wulfgang.

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/on-august-25th-we-drove-out-of-lekwungen-territory/

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On
August 4th we rolled up to YUCT
NE SENXIYMETKEW on unceded Secwepemc territory to join
the gathering organized by the Secwepemc Womens Warrior Society to mark the
2-year anniversary of the Mount
Polley Disaster.

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Around
the sacred fire Sacheen of Ancestral Pride and Chrissy of the
West Coast Women’s Warrior Society led a workshop discussing how allies can throw down, supporters prepared wild
salmon, elders shared stories and we joined a dozen kids playing in the nearby
woods so their mamas could complete the skill shares they were leading and
start the blockade.

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Under
the direction of Secwepemc Women, Elders and organizer Harsha Wallia a blockade
was set up at the entrance to the road leading to Mount Polley.  Workers
were permitted to leave and no one was permitted to enter.  We joined in
with kids on our shoulders while Kanahus of the Secwepecm Women’s Warrior
Society approached vehicles to inform them they were breaking Secwepemc law and
supporters stood strong in soft blockade.  Despite the assault committed by one of the mine-workers on land defenders and
the injury of Sacheen, the Sewepecm Womens Warrior Society
with their allies including Ancestral Pride, Downtown Eastside Power of Women,
Native Youth Movement and No One Is Illegal, successfully shut down the mine
for hours.

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That
evening a thunderstorm rolled in, lightning struck setting fire to a nearby power line and the
temporary camp was packed up so folks could return home. It was as if creator was telling us it was time to leave. We stuck around
the William’s Lake area for a couple nights as Sacheen attempted to file a police report and was met with some
fucked up, typical and boring as hell racist bullshit from the RCMP.

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We
returned to Lekwungen Territory only to jump back on the ferry the very next
day to throw down with Sacheen, Kanahus and Chrissy on Musqueam
Territory.  On August 9th a solid crew successfully occupied
the offices of Imperial Metals until cops stormed in, beat the shit out of our
friends and arrested four of us: beyon and our friends Julie Anne and Noah among
them.  While some of us headed to the cop shop to do jail
support Kanahus, Sacheen and other West Coast Warrior Women went and occupied
the offices of the BC Mining Association.

The
following evening Sacheen and Kanahus hosted a debrief delivered to a packed
room.  At this event Sacheen’s father, Tytun (Shane) Pointe honoured those
arrested, there was a blanketing ceremony for Julie Anne, beyon, Noah and David, thanking them for their work
supporting his daughter and affirmed they now shared the same canoe.

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The
creeks, rivers, lakes and ocean are all connected. The poisons being discharged
into Hazeltine Creek by Imperial Metals flow through the connected waterways.
The salmon which return to the rivers from the oceans must pass through the
toxins never cleaned up by Imperial Metals. This is not just an Indigenous
issue, we all live downstream. The destruction of the land by mining is violence
and enough is enough.

Two
full years after the catastrophic breach of Mount Polley’s Tailings Pond,
Imperial Metals continues to operate illegally destroying the land and
endangering the lives of all the surrounding people.

Support
the work of Indigenous Women to shut down Imperial Metals.

And learn more here.

Xo
beyon and Wulfie

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/on-august-4th-we-rolled-up-to-yuct-ne-senxiymetkew/

Even though [as land defenders through out so-called BC] we might not physically be there all the time
with each other we know we’re all in it together. We know that we’re fighting the same fight
and that we’re fighting for freedom.
We’re not fighting to save one area from one pipeline, we’re not
fighting to save one thing, like a lake or the ocean, we’re all fighting for
freedom from colonization.  We’re
fighting to live as sovereign people, to be connected to our lands, to have
healthy families, to have healthy Nations. That’s what we’re fighting for.  We know that healthy lands are essential to
our existence.  It feels really good to
know that we’re not alone.  

-Molly Wickham

Molly Wickham is a Wet’suwet’en land defender, mother and hunter from
the Gitemden clan’s Spookw house.  She lives with her husband and two
children at Lhudis Bin, “The Lake Way Out There,” a place where her
ancestors and elders lived, hunted, gathered medicine and fished.  
Lhudis Bin was the planned site for a tailings pond that would hold
chemicals from mining operations on Nanika Mountain, a project that has
never moved forward.  Through her work with the Life School and
leadership with the Wet’suwet’en drum group Molly shares stories of
resistance with the next generation, passes on skills and creates the
songs that will tell the stories of these times.

Learn more about the Life School at the Cedars R.I.S.E Society.

Donations and offers of support can be made to ror.wickham@gmail.com

And cheques can be sent via snail mail to Box 3664 Smithers BC V0J 2N0

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/even-though-as-land-defenders-through-out/

I think that we have so much to gain from living on our
territories and living the way our ancestors did.  That is why they were so strong. That is why
they were so smart and so strong physically and mentally and spiritually.  We need it, not only do we need it, but we’re
gonna be an even bigger force to be reckoned with when more of our people gain
that strength. 

 We can’t be Wet’suwet’en if we don’t have the Wet’suwet’en
lands.

-Molly Wickham

Molly Wickham is a Wet’suwet’en land defender, mother and hunter from the Gitemden clan’s Spookw house.  She lives with her husband and two children at Lhudis Bin, “The Lake Way Out There,” a place where her ancestors and elders lived, hunted, gathered medicine and fished.  Lhudis Bin was the planned site for a tailings pond that would hold chemicals from mining operations on Nanika Mountain, a project that has never moved forward.  Through her work with the Life School and leadership with the Wet’suwet’en drum group Molly shares stories of resistance with the next generation, passes on skills and creates the songs that will tell the stories of these times.

Learn more about the Life School at the Cedars R.I.S.E Society.

Donations and offers of support can be made to ror.wickham@gmail.com

And cheques can be sent via snail mail to Box 3664 Smithers BC V0J 2N0

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/i-think-that-we-have-so-much-to-gain-from-living/

Time does not make its way through our lives in a linear movement and so we begin our updates with the winding down of the work on the Youth Art Mural.  The mural painting was part of the Unist’ot’en’s first Youth Art Camp and we took a rare quiet opportunity to visit Molly Wickham and her family at their home on Gitemden Territory.

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The territories of the Gitemden Clan of the Wet’suwet’en  located next to that of the Unist’ot’en’s unceded Yintah of Talbits Kwa.  Past sprawling lakes, fields of wild medicines, tangles of berries and painful clear cuts we made our way to Lhudis Bin meaning “The Lake Way Out There,” where Molly and her partner Cody with their two kids, Liam and Lily have made their home at the request of their Elders.

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Lhudis Bin, the lake way out there, is located at the center of the Casyex House Territory, the Grizzly Bear House.  It is a place where the Elders and the Ancestors once lived, where the earth hides caches and the hills grow medicine, the lake is home to Chard and the lands nourish Bear, Moose, Dear and Coyote.  The waters of this lake are fed by the Nanika river, where Molly and her family get their drinking water from, which flows from the glacier of nearby Nanika Mountain.  Nanika Mountain holds within her mineral deposits at risk of industrial extraction.  If Nanika mountain were to be mined it would turn Lhudis Bin into a tailings pond. (The term “pond” can be a little misleading, as the structures can grow to be the size of Central Park.) Lhudis Bin is connected to Wetzin Bin, which drains into Wetzin’kwa, where Freda and everyone at the Unist’ot’en camp get their drinking water, which is connected to the Bulkley and eventually to the Skeena and on to the sea.

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Molly, Cody and their son Liam began living on their territory and in close relationship to the land as defenders and caretakers in 2012.  This has ensured that a proposed ‘sling site’, where materials and workers for the proposed pipelines on Unist’ot’en territory would be brought in, has not been established.  Returning to their territory has not only created the possibility for the land to heal from years of colonial devastation through logging it has also made it possible for the growth of the Life School.

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The Life School is an initiative of grass roots Indigenous families raising their children decolonized, in relationship to the land, and learning their own histories of resistance instead of the assimilation fed to youth in colonial public education institutions.  Seasonally these families come together to offer support to one another, share skills, put away food and connect their children with other kids like them.

“Really we’re just living Indigenous lives, we’re
living an Indigenous existence and that’s the education that we want to be
giving our kids.  We want to be able to
be out on the land with our kids and teaching them in an experiential way according to our own tradition.” -Molly Wickham

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If you are interested in supporting Molly and the Life School’s work they are always in need of both monetary donations, assistance with grants, and support approaching businesses for in kind donations in order to make their seasonal gatherings possible. 

You can learn more about their work at the Cedars R.I.S.E Society. 

Donations and offers of support can be made to ror.wickham@gmail.com

And cheques can be sent via snail mail to Box 3664 Smithers BC V0J 2N0

If you have questions feel free to contact us.

xo beyon and wulfgang <3

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/time-does-not-make-its-way-through-our-lives-in-a/

These are our friends who we have been throwing down with for the past couple weeks. last night we collaborated together to create this gofundme in order to get the resources that these warriors need to fight off these billion dollar companies. please consider donating <3

Today the Secwepemc Women’s Warrior Society and Ancestral Pride launch the Imperial No More Campaign. We are launching this campaign to stop Imperial Metals before they cause any more violence and devastation to the lands, waters and our lives. We are seeking support to protect our unceded territories and to ensure the children of all people can eat the salmon and breathe the air, we cannot do it without your support.

“We the people are the Protectors and Land Defenders and with our allies supporting this indigenous-led resistance, we will make a stand to stop Imperial Metals from violating our rights. Not one more mountain will be mined, not one more water way destroyed in the name of profit, not one more tree logged to create roads for these mines.” –Kanahus

Kanahus Manuel of the Secwepemc Women’s Warriors Society, mother and artist and Sacheen Seitcham of Ancestral Pride, Grandmother, medicine maker and traditional midwife have been organizing resistance to the illegal mining operations of Imperial Metals on their territories since before the devastating tailings pond breach in 2014. We stand to protect Yuct Ne Senxiymetkwe and Chitaapi Mountain from Imperial Metals.

Despite their efforts Imperial Metal’s Mount Polley mine continues to operate and in November 2015 the province issued a permit for the company to discharge their toxic tailings into Hazeltine Creek, the same waterways affected by the 2014 breach.

“The Time is Now, We Cannot Wait Anymore”

The creeks, rivers, lakes and ocean are all connected. The poisons being discharged into Hazeltine Creek flow through the connected waterways. The salmon which return to the rivers form the oceans must pass through the toxins never cleaned up by Imperial Metals. This is not just an Indigenous issue, we all live downstream. The destruction of the land by mining is violence and enough is enough.

Two full years after the catastrophic breach of Mount Polley’s Tailings Pond, Imperial Metals continues to operate illegally destroying the land and endangering the lives of all the surrounding people.

Over the last week the Secwepemc Women’s Warrior Society and Ancestral Pride have been taking direct action with the support of allies to show Imperial Metals that we will escalate resistance until they cease and desist all mining operations on our Indigenous territories.

On August 4th we marked the 2-year anniversary of the devastating Tailings Pond breach with a gathering of Indigenous land defenders, allies and supporters to shut down the mine and to assert sovereignty over our unceded territories. There were workshops, feasting, training, ceremony and information sharing.

After skilling up together we completely blocked all workers from returning to work and stopped mining activity.

On August 9th the Secwepemc Women’s Warrior Society and Ancestral Pride successfully occupied the Imperial Metal’s Vancouver Office. Imperial Metals ordered thirty police offers to violently assault Indigenous women and supporters, with four arrests and many bruised bodies. Spirits remain high and we know the world is watching, we have support from around the world.

“Colonial violence is real! The mining companies in central and south amerikkka are already killing indigenous people for protecting their land and their ways of life. We are quick approaching that time here in kkkanada and we need to know where everyone stands? Will you put your bodies on the line to fight for the future?” -Sacheen

It is time to gather the resources to SHUT IMPERIAL METALS DOWN!

What the funds will be used for:

All funds raised will be used to develop and maintain the campaign to Stop Imperial Metals. Up to this point Sacheen, Kanahus and their supporters have been operating on their own funds and small contributions from their networks.

Here is where the funds will be used:

• For the materials and equipment necessary to hold events, direct actions and provide documentation for media releases.

• To repair our vehicle and cover the travel costs for members of the Secwepemc Women’s Warrior Society, Ancestral Pride and their supporters to be where they need to in order to continue pressure on Imperial Metals and their shareholders.

This also means we will be able to connect with the grassroots community, indigenous and non-indigenous most affected by Imperial Metals mines.

• To ensure we have the necessary funds for any legal fees that arise when the RCMP come down on our supporters and us.

• For awareness spreading materials and activities.

• To provide capacity building featuring Guerilla Media training, grant writing opportunities for other indigenous land defenders and our supporters.

• To build homes at Tska7 (Ruddock Creek) and Chitaapi (Catface Mountain) to assert our rights and title over our territories by living on them. This is most important as occupation is key to stopping resource extraction!

• We plan to host a large gathering that can bring together members of effected communities and our supporters to strategize and build a stronger movement to resist Imperial Metals on all affected territories.

“Colonial violence is real! The mining companies in central and south amerikkka are already killing indigenous people for protecting their land and their ways of life. We are quick approaching that time here in kkkanada and we need to know where everyone stands? Will you put your bodies on the line to fight for the future?”

For more information:

Imperial Metals is engaging in mining practices and operations that are in direct oppostion to the protocols and inherent rights and title of the Secwepemc, Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht, Wet’suwet’en, and Tahltan First Nations.

www.imperialnomore.com

www.ancestralpride.org

www.facebook.com/yuctnesenxiymetkwecamp/

https://www.youtube.com/embed/WvahN7pdXek

https://vimeo.com/107615821

https://vimeo.com/113344620

(Source: https://player.vimeo.com/)

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/these-are-our-friends-who-we-have-been-throwing/

I don’t have the heart to sit here and see it happen.  Right now they’re drilling on Digby Island to
see how far they go before they reach rock bottom and then they’ll understand
how much, they call it bio mass waste, they have to take out, which is all the
living peat moss and rare plants and then they’re just going to dump it on the
other side of the island. 

–Goot-Ges

We realised people need to occupy that Island.  We learned form Enbridge that we can’t count
on the government of Canada’s processes, we can’t count on petitions, we can’t
count on protests; the government just ignores all this stuff. And we need
the people who have legal rights and title to that land.  It’s unceded territory.

–Christie Brown

Goot-Ges is a Haida, Nisga’a and Tsimshian woman from the
village of skulls, Gingolx, in the Nisga’a Nation whose clan is Raven from the
house of T’tanihaulk.  She is a
land defender, freelance writer, radio producer and independent mother of
three.  In August of 2015 in
collaboration with four other Indigenous women Goot-Ges began an occupation at
Lax U’u’la, which continues to protect the island and surrounding waters from
destruction to this day.  Her work is
rooted in cultural practice: prayer, story telling and medicine as healing and
an integral aspect of resistance to ongoing colonization.  She has founded and supported countless
projects assisting her people in healing inter-generational trauma and ending
gender based violence.  

Check out
Goot-Ges’ most recent project Yakguudan, which means ‘to respect all life’ in Haida.

Christie Brown of Gitxan and Scottish descent has worked to
defend the lands, waters, salmon and lives of her people against the Northern
Gateway pipeline and Petronas’ Pacific North West LNG export facility.  Her creative forms of resistance merge the
contemporary tools at hand with the revitalization of traditional skills and
hereditary systems.  In August of 2015 in
collaboration with 4 other Indigenous women Christie organized and began an
occupation of Lax U’u’la on unceded Tsimshian territory.  Christie’s work defending Lax U’u’la, the
Flora Banks and it’s protective eelgrass and the Skeena River continues to this
day.  

Support Christie and her work
upholding Tsimshian Law to protect Lax U’u’la for future generations.

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/i-dont-have-the-heart-to-sit-here-and-see-it/