Note: The Talon editorial collective would like to apologize for not having consulted Elders regarding place names on Burnaby Mountain. We understand that Lheklhukxate is one name belonging to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people and as such do not want to erase place names known to and belonging to other nations.
The Talon editorial collective would like to express solidarity with those resisting the Kinder Morgan expansion on the occupied Indigenous territories otherwise known as Burnaby Mountain. The building of the Trans Mountain pipeline does not have the consent of local Indigenous communities, whose land the pipeline would be built on, nor the consent of Burnaby residents, Indigenous peoples and settlers alike. This pipeline would run from Alberta to Vancouver carrying millions of barrels of tar sands everyday, cutting through various communities. We stand in support of those fighting against this colonial corporate greed and Indigenous land degradation.
Since August, the residents of Burnaby, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, and the City of Burnaby have come together to resist and oppose the National Energy Board’s decision to allow Kinder Morgan, a corporate energy giant from Texas, to operate on Burnaby Mountain.
This week, however, there was an injunction granted by the courts that allowed Kinder Morgan to forcibly evict and arrest protesters, so that the company could begin its drill work. Twenty six people were arrested yesterday, and arrests are continuing today.
In the larger fight against destructive resource extraction economies, it is only grassroots movements and collective community resistance that can succeed in halting these projects. As such, we call on those who are able to partake in direct action at this time to join Indigenous land defenders and their allies. They need support up on the mountain, where people are both in and outside of the injunction area, and allies to stand in solidarity with them at the courts.
In the fight against corporate development, the destruction of Indigenous territories, state criminalization and ongoing displacement at the expense of profits by the colonial Canadian state, we at The Talon believe that students can and should mobilize.
To get involved or support this resistance, you can:
- Sign up for a shift to stand against Kinder Morgan at Burnaby Mountain from here
- Donate to the Legal Support Fund: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/legal-support-for-burnby-mountain-defenders
- Stay in the loop about jail solidarity, court support, and further updates on Burnaby Mountain Updates‘ public facebook page
- Speak up and share widely on whatever platform is available to you (social media, classroom announcements, etc.)
- Check out the hashtags #BurnabyMountain, #KinderMorgan, #StopKinderMorgan, and #KMface on twitter to keep updated in real-time.
To learn more about this issue, check out these links:
- Burnaby Mountain: Latest wall of opposition against tar sands (Harsha Walia)
- Squamish Nation members join protest as police arrest pipeline opponents on Burnaby Mountain (Jane Seyd)
- Elder Sut-lut speaks at the Sacred Fire on Burnaby Mountain (video)
- ‘This is going to be a war,’ says Burnaby mayor – video (Dan Fumano)
- 5 Things To Know About the Kinder Morgan Pipeline (Tiffany Morgan)
- Cross-border Indigenous Treaty Takes on Kinder Morgan Pipeline (David P. Ball)
