Benefits start to pour into Wet’suwet’en through pipeline contracts while community remains divided

WITSET, B.C. — Fifty-three-year-old Butch Dennis drives slowly along a frozen road in the Witset First Nation village, stopping to acknowledge two kids who are watching a lucky friend motor about on a pint-sized snowmobile.

“I think we have a pretty awesome reserve,” he says. “We have a firehall, we have clean running water, we have programs to learn our language and we have meal programs for the youth and the elders. The elders get free cut firewood.” On Feb. 24, the same day 23 people were arrested at three B.C. blockades and more blockades appeared in Quebec and Ontario, Dennis raised a Canadian flag on a pole beside his smokehouse.

The bridge is the farthest point up the road that the RCMP have arrested Wet’suwet’en members opposed to the 670-km Coastal GasLink pipeline. Coastal GasLink learned that Unist’ot’en House was responsible for its own negotiations through a letter sent Feb. 26, 2013, from the Office of the Wet’suwet’en stating that it did not formally represent “Dark House a.k.a. Unist’ot’en from the Gilseyhu clan.”

The Wet’suwet’en traditional lands are divided among five clans, and within those clans are a total of 13 houses. Each house has a chief and one or more wing chiefs. Chief Warner William, despite his Dark House/Unist’ot’en House being at the centre of the fight, remains neutral while his wing chief Freda Huson — who established the Unist’ot’en healing centre in 2009, originally as an anti-pipeline checkpoint — is now the spiritual leader of the fight against Coastal GasLink and speaks for the house.

Risdale is the chief who speaks on behalf of the Office of the Wet’suwet’en and is a point person for the federal and provincial governments’ continuing efforts to try to get the office to support the pipeline. “It’s really hard for me because my husband is anti-pipeline,” Gagnon said in her office at the Witset First Nation. “In my house, we just don’t talk about it because our marriage is more important than anything that happens out there. I don’t need war in my house.”

Between them they manage the two tiers of pipeline funding laid out in a confidential agreement signed between the band and Coastal GasLink on May 10, 2018. Hagwilget First Nation councillor Jack Sebastian said that at one point Coastal GasLink offered $250,000, but that was refused.

There's more than just themselves 😘

No surprise. The commies in Ottawa enforcing their narrative.

funny how people demand Indigenous leaders be held accountable, but the industry that willfully and knowingly poisoned the planet for decades must never be held accountable... FossilFuelGhoulLogic cdnpoli

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Talks between Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and Ottawa a sign of progress to end standoffOutside the meeting venue, more than 20 Wet’suwet’en members held a 15-minute pro-pipeline rally, interrupted at the beginning by a shouting match with supporters of the hereditary chiefs Ok then - this ends once taxpayers hand over a cheque to these semi-toothless, unelected ner’do wells.....disgusting! The weak PM is negotiating with terrorists. It's heartening to see the majority standing up with signs to support the LNG.
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »

Talks resume between Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, B.C. and Ottawa in bid to end impasseThe discussions in Smithers, B.C., are expected to focus on issues of Indigenous rights and title fedministerstalktohedchiefs Hope they don’t get duped! These 2 are not the brightest tools in the shed. A complete idiot,no deal to be had here,this is way bigger than trudeau is able to deal with, he is in a box. He may be involved, don`t forget about butts and the shit that went on there, we still do not know, we all know this gov has to go, when will they take them down.
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »

Wet’suwet’en chiefs meeting with federal, provincial ministers in northwestern B.C. in attempt to end standoffThe chiefs’ opposition to a natural gas pipeline project on their traditional territory has sparked shows of support that have shut down freight and passenger rail service '...with hereditary chiefs...' Which ones? The majority who want jobs, or the minority propped up by foreigners?
Source: nationalpost - 🏆 10. / 80 Read more »

Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief says meeting with federal, B.C. governments is back onMeeting comes a day after protesters behind rail blockades in Quebec and Ontario ramped up their actions and government officials accused them of compromising public safety
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »

Mohawks propose temporary Indigenous police for Wet'suwet'en territoryThe hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en are scheduled to meet today for a second day with senior federal and provincial ministers
Source: VancouverSun - 🏆 49. / 61 Read more »

Letters to the editor: Feb. 27: ‘It would make greater sense to block more highways and inconvenience the car drivers who keep the oil industry going.’ Readers respond to more protests, plus other letters to the editorFeb. 27: ‘It would make greater sense to block more highways and inconvenience the car drivers who keep the oil industry going.’ Readers respond to more protests, plus other letters to the editor GlobeDebate GlobeDebate I bet they all drove to the blockade and heat their homes with gas... GlobeDebate The collapse of a system under its own weight explains the end of many political systems. The cultish obsession with 'reconciliation' and 'green' puritanism is moving our federation toward that 'tipping point'
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »