Pipeline too risky for First Nations
We know that many people in Alberta are keen to see the oilsands continue to expand and for new pipeline infrastructure to be built, specifically the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline and oil tanker project.
We First Nations people living in British Columbia can’t afford to put our communities at risk from pipeline oil spills and we ask Albertans to listen to and respect our position.
Opposition to the proposed pipeline is growing among First Nations across the West, with nations in Alberta and even Manitoba adding their voices to the more than 80 nations in B.C. who are speaking out on the Enbridge project.
We are proud to be allied with our nonnative neighbours as well: community members, scientists, lawyers, educators, conservationists, philanthropists, activists and others who oppose the pipeline and share our belief in the vital importance of maintaining the health of our ecosystems.
Last month, our five nations of the Yinka Dene Alliance travelled from northern B.C. to Calgary, where we stood with some Alberta First Nations in creating the Calgary Statement of Solidarity. It says that the “Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline and tankers project will expose indigenous and non-indigenous communities from the Pacific coast across to Alberta to the risk of pipeline and supertanker oil spills.”
Our statement affirms the right of indigenous peoples, including those affected by the proposed pipeline, to say ‘no’ to such developments on their territories, and to have that decision respected. This right is recognized under international law.
It is clear that our opposition to the Enbridge project is not a minority viewpoint; we are firmly in the mainstream. Consistently, polls report that more than 75 per cent of British Columbians oppose oil tanker traffic on the Pacific north coast. B.C.‘s civic governments overwhelmingly agreed to a resolution to stop oil tankers on the coast. British Columbians are concerned about this project because we know that there is no way to guarantee that oil spills won’t happen.
Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel, has stated he can’t guarantee a spill will not occur. By Enbridge’s own accounting, the company averages 60 spills of varying sizes every year. Over the past year we have witnessed several devastating accidents including the British Petroleum oil spill, Enbridge’s massive spill in Michigan, and in May, the largest oil spill in Alberta since 1975 on Lubicon Cree territory.
The claim that First Nations are being manipulated by the “green movement” into rejecting the proposed Enbridge pipeline reveals a deep misunderstanding of the laws, culture, history and strength of indigenous people.
We speak for ourselves, and our decision is based on our extensive consideration of the risks of this pipeline, and the views of our elders, our youth and our entire community. Nobody should doubt the authenticity of our opposition.
Chief Dolly Abraham of Takla Lake always makes clear that water is a non-renewable resource for everyone on earth and we will fight to protect it. We cannot allow Enbridge to come onto our territory and build pipelines that endanger our families and the rivers, land and fish that are our people’s lifeblood.
Twenty-five per cent of their proposed pipeline route is through our traditional territories. We have told Enbridge there is no way we can allow them onto our lands. We have too much at stake to take even the slightest risk of a spill. Moreover, we can’t allow a project that would facilitate further harm to our fellow First Nations in northern Alberta, who live in constant fear of the oilsands’ effects on their water.
We have occupied our traditional territory, located in the central interior of what is now known as B.C., since time immemorial. Since the arrival of newcomers, we have always worked hard to protect our lands and to preserve our indigenous governance system and laws, while seeking a just and positive coexistence with our neighbours. We would rather choose sustainable developments that allow us to protect the wellbeing of the land for future generations.
We hope that our neighbours in Alberta will respect the decision we have made, and that other British Columbians have made, and support us in saying no to Enbridge’s pipeline and tanker plans.
As Chief Larry Nooski of Nadleh Whut’en says, “Our nations are the wall this pipeline will not break through.”
The authors represent the Nadleh Whut’en,
Nak’Azdli, Takla Lake, Wet’suwet’en and Saik’uz First Nations.