sacheen seitcham

April 18, 2017

If nobody is speaking the truth then we are
all living a lie.

-Queen Sacheen

What I do know of our people out here was
that when it was time to go to war we weren’t pacifists. When we prayed at wartime we prayed to kill
our enemies, we prayed to be victorious; we prayed to be the winners of the
battle. Whatever that battle was,
whether it was over a broken paddle or a broken promise we weren’t peaceful, we
weren’t pacifists, we weren’t negating spirituality either; it was also
ceremonial.

-Queen Sacheen

Xhopakelxhit, Sacheen Seitcham, is a Snuneymuxw, Nuu Chah Nulth,
Coast Salish and Cree Grandmother, Medicine Maker, Water Protector and
Strategist. Co-Founder of the Coast Salish Native Youth Movement, The West Coast
Women Warrior Society Media Cooperative, Yaakswiis Warriors, Imperial No More and Ancestral Pride Sacheen’s life is
dedicated to the futures of the children. In August of 2016
Sacheen and 3 others were arrested for attempting to block the restocking of a
fish farm in Ahousaht waters and in the autumn Sacheen and her family were
throwing down with Red Warrior at Standing Rock and providing crucial on the
ground media coverage.

Sacheen’s work relies on the support of people like you dedicated to
Indigenous Sovereignty and Protection of Water, Land and Life. With
court dates coming up on both sides of the colonial border, family to
support and Imperial Metals, the Kinder Morgan Pipeline and Cermaq to fuck up
your donations are crucial.

Please support Warriors.

E- transfers can be made to: mamazonscreations@gmail.com

Donate Sacheen’s work
with Imperial No More

or Donate
directly to support Sacheen

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/if-nobody-is-speaking-the-truth-then-we-are-all/

April 15, 2017

Rebelling is not like a cool thing you do
and then you go to college and then get a fucking job and then be a fucking
capitalist for the rest of your life.

-Queen Sacheen

It’s a colonial lie that we cannot support
each other in a diversity of tactics.

-Queen Sacheen

Please support Warriors.

E- transfers can be made to: mamazonscreations@gmail.com

Donate Sacheen’s work
with Imperial No More

or Donate
directly to support Sacheen

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/rebelling-is-not-like-a-cool-thing-you-do-and-then/

April 13, 2017

Look into your babies eyes and tell me,
tell me you are not going to do everything in your power to make sure they have
a future that doesn’t involve living in fucking consumer barracks, living in
the capitalist trenches of the cities fucking being mindless zombies living in
fucking boxes and buying fucking boxes and throwing fucking boxes away and then
ending up in a box and it all meant nothing and that’s the legacy. To me the legacy is freedom. The legacy is liberation. And maybe there will be blood shed, more than
already has been, and maybe that blood will be mine, but if there’s a future
worth having then it is worth it to me.

-Queen Sacheen

Please support Warriors.

E- transfers can be made to: mamazonscreations@gmail.com

Donate Sacheen’s work
with Imperial No More

or Donate
directly to support Sacheen

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/look-into-your-babies-eyes-and-tell-me-tell-me/

April 10, 2017

I never think of the land as a separate
being from myself. It’s part of who I
am. My ancestors bled for the land,
their bones are in the land, their ashes are in the land and in the water.

-Queen Sacheen

When war is happening every day to our people, when
war is happening every day to our fucking psyches and our minds, through social
media, and resource extraction, through neo-colonialism, through our elected
leaders signing papers with corporations these are acts of war. So everyday when I am praying in the morning
and praying when I go to bed I am praying to be strong enough to fight that
war.

-Queen Sacheen

Xhopakelxhit, Sacheen Seitcham,

is a Snuneymuxw, Nuu Chah Nulth, Coast Salish and Cree Grandmother, Medicine Maker, Water Protector and Strategist. Co-Founder of the Coast Salish Native Youth Movement, The West Coast Women Warrior Society Media Cooperative, Yaakswiis Warriors, Imperial No More and Ancestral Pride Sacheen’s life is dedicated to the futures of the children. In August of 2016 Sacheen and 3 others were arrested for attempting to block the restocking of a fish farm in Ahousaht waters and in the autumn Sacheen and her family were throwing down with Red Warrior at Standing Rock and providing crucial on the ground media coverage.

Sacheen’s work relies on the support of people like you dedicated to Indigenous Sovereignty and Protection of Water, Land and Life. With court dates coming up on both sides of the colonial border, family to support and Imperial Metals, the Kinder Morgan Pipeline and Cermaq to fuck up your donations are crucial.

Please support Warriors.

E- transfers can be made to: mamazonscreations@gmail.com

Sign up to make a monthly donation

Donate Sacheen’s work with Imperial No More

or Donate directly to support Sacheen

https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/i-never-think-of-the-land-as-a-separate-being-from/

September 15, 2016

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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/

September 2, 2016

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 9^th 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.

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/

August 12, 2016

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.

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/