Showing support for the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation
“Land is sacred, water is life. Today we gather to give that support for the rights of our relatives the Chippewas of the Thames and the Clyde River people. It is so important that the land and the water remain sacred.”
These words rang through my ears as well as those of the people of Chippewas of the Thames First Nation (COTTFN), Clyde River, and their many supporters as we stood by the Supreme Court of Canada on Nov. 30.
For many, the day began with a 6:30 a.m. sunrise ceremony on Victoria Island in Ottawa, but as of 8 a.m., over 100 people had gathered outside the Supreme Court to stand in solidarity with the COTTFN and the Inuit of Clyde River.
The people of the COTTFN were in Ottawa voicing their opposition to Line 9, a 40-year-old pipeline located under the Thames River which runs from Sarnia to Montreal.
According to Myeengun Henry, the band councillor for the COTTFN, his nation never consented to its construction. Forty years later, Enbridge plans to increase the flow and reverse the direction of the pipeline. Despite the COTTFN expressing their desire for a direct consultation with the Canadian government, Enbridge’s Line 9 was approved by the National Energy Board in 2015 without the Chippewas’ consent.
The National Energy board also failed to adequately consult the Inuit of Clyde River on their 2014 approval of seismic testing. According to Oceana.org, seismic testing is a dangerous method used to locate oil reserves under water. Noise is blasted through airguns to penetrate the ocean floor and determine whether or not oil is located beneath. These blasts are incredibly loud, and can disturb and kill marine animals. For the people of Clyde River, the seismic blasting in Baffin Bay would not only result in a loss of wildlife, which is devastating in itself, but is also harmful to their way of life since they rely on seal meat to survive.
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Though the two Indigenous communities are facing different challenges, both are claiming they were not properly consulted by the Crown. Their constitutional rights were set aside in the interest of corporate greed.
Even as the cold winter rain slowly soaked through our clothes and the wind chilled us to the bone, it was impossible not to feel a sense of light and warmth outside the Supreme Court. All around me were people from both the Chippewas of the Thames and Clyde River, having travelled from far north and south to be there. To have their cases be considered, these people have moved mountains; congregating outside the Supreme Court was the final push to what has been a difficult journey. Children, students, passersby, elders, and leaders all gathered to protect what gives us life.
“Water is life. Protect the sacred,” the crowd chanted over and over.
Letting these words wash over us, we are reminded of both the gravity and the universality of the situation. This fight is not exclusive to Indigenous peoples; it is all of ours. We all rely on water to bathe, to cook, to drink, to live. And yet, to this day, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples have acted as its primary protectors and have always been the first to vocalize dissent when its safety is threatened.
We must all stand in solidarity with those at the frontline of the water crisis. We must all act as water protectors.
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With two major pipelines, Kinder Morgan and Line 3, having been approved by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the eve of this rally, we have been provided with further reason to fight. The result of the cases which were heard by the Supreme Court of Canada on Nov. 30 may prove to be revolutionary with respect to how we handle First Nations and Inuit constitutional rights. Will they stand? Or will Indigenous issues continue to be swept under the rug?
The devastating violence taking place at Standing Rock in the U.S. also foreshadows what could be ahead in Canada for those who continue to oppose the exploitation of unsustainable energy and dirty oil.
Now is the time for us to organize and raise our voices before it is too late.
As the the Cree proverb says, “Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.”