In the BC context, the vast majority of the land is unceded, unsurrendered, and not covered by any treaties â of course most treaties didnât do so either, but in BC it is even clearer than in the rest of the country that nothing has extinguished the right of traditional Indigenous governance systems over their own lands. In contrast, the governance imposed and funded by the Canadian state in the form of band councils have, at most, authority over reserve lands, which are a miniscule fraction of nationsâ historic land base. Because of that, Thomas argues, âthe bands have absolutely no authority to sign away our rights the way they doâ when it comes to resource extraction and consequent environmental destruction on those lands.
On two separate days in October 2020, as the company was about to commence drilling, people involved with the unity camp engaged in ceremony, blocked the drilling, and were arrested. Though Thomas was originally present intending to act as a legal observer, she ended up being arrested as well.
The resulting court process has been long and arduous. Thomas said that it has been difficult at times to get clear answers about the charges and about how the Crown intends to proceed. Her hypothesis is that they were âtrying to manipulate the whole system, and confuse us and force us into pleading guilty.â In addition, she said the judge does not seem to understand the role of Aboriginal rights and title, even within the constrained, colonial context of the settler legal system. She added, âAnd the judge and the prosecutor have been rude to us at times. And I would even say racist.â
The trials for the two groups of arrestees are coming up in March and April, respectively. Thomas encourages people from elsewhere in the Canadian state who want to show support to both continue acting in whatever ways they can to oppose Trans Mountain, and also to donate at Secwepemc Say No to TMX Trial Support on GoFundMe to cover the land defendersâ legal expenses.
Thomas said, âIâm really happy and proud that I got arrested with these other seven land defenders, because theyâre very resourceful and instrumental and smart and strong. And together, all eight of us make a really excellent team and standing up against this corrupt, oppressive, genocidal system that weâre being forced under, especially in the criminal courts.â
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Talking Radical Radio is brought to you by Scott Neigh (http://scottneigh.ca/), a writer, media producer, and activist based in Hamilton, Ontario, and the author of two books examining Canadian history through the stories of activists.