carrionthrash:

Watching Aboriginal activists in BC shut down the Kinder Morgan pipeline has been one of the most heartening things that I’ve seen recently. Obviously the fight is still going, but from the research I’ve done, the work on the ground by native groups and the legal battles started by first nations affected by the pipeline is one of, if not the biggest factor in causing the delays that lead to KM deciding to pull non essential funding from the project for the time being.

It seems like KM, Trudeau and the premier of Alberta are both making it seem like opposition from the province of BC is the thing in the way of the pipeline getting built, and haven’t even mentioned the aboriginal opposition. But that’s because it sounds a lot better to say “the premier of BC is making a bad policy decision and keeping us from building the pipeline!!” than “we really didn’t think about the fact that Indians can hire lawyers and now we’re embroiled in a ton of legal conflicts because we tried to ram an oil pipeline through treaty land without consent”.

Actually acknowledging where the real fight is here – between Aboriginal peoole and the Canadian government – would make it very clearn how much of Trudeau’s public image and supposed support of native rights is a sham. It would also showcase something that the government of Canada really doesn’t want Aboriginal people (and the rest of the people being exploited in this country) to know – that we have this power. That we can shut things down when we work together. They’re making this out to be about a petty squabble between government beuracrats because that covers up to movement that’s taking place. But they’re not doing so successfuly, and I think this is going to have a ripple effect of dissent through the country in the near future.