The Salmon Arm Ecumenical KAIROS Committee presents “Standing With the Unist’ot’en: Protect the Land, Water and Indigenous Rights,” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, at First United Church.
The Unist’ot’en, a clan of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, are struggling to prevent three petroleum companies from laying pipelines in their territory. Two would carry liquid fracked gas, which is 20 times more powerful a climate change driver than carbon dioxide. The other pipeline (Northern Gateway) would carry corrosive bitumen from the Alberta tar sands, risking contamination of land and water from leakage and spills.
Denying permission is a First Nations right enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which states that there must be free, prior and informed consent from the indigenous people concerned before any project affecting their lands or territories can be approved.
The recent report of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and its 94 Calls to Action are based on the framework of this United Nations Declaration.
The TRC Report has shown Canadians how churches and governments collaborated to extinguish language, culture and identity of indigenous children, breaking bonds of family and community, contributing to a separation of people from the land, while suppressing the spirituality that celebrated that connection.
Canadian churches and other communities have responded by committing to work for reconciliation, healing and a new relationship with First Nations that honours their contributions to Canada.
KAIROS-Salmon Arm sees the Feb. 28 program as a small part of that important work.
The program will feature talks by Rev. Jenny Carter, the Minister at First United Church, and Kanahus Manuel, Secwepemc land defender. There will also be two short films about the work of the Unist’ot’en, and a silent auction as a fundraiser to help with legal costs.
The program will begin at 2 p.m. while the auction will open at 1:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Anne Morris at 250-833-5773.
