She Speaks: Indigenous Women Speak Out Against Tar Sands – Sep 21

When: Friday September 21, 2012
Doors at 5:30 pm, event will start shortly after (by 5:40’ish), ends at
8:30 pm

Where: Aboriginal Friendship Center
1607 East Hastings St (corner Commercial)
Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories

Childcare & Feast (sponsored by the International Woman’s Climate Caucus). This is a free event.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/216667078461052/
Web: http://www.ienearth.org/blog/2012/09/she-speaks-indigenous-women-speak-out-against-tar-sands/

Indigenous communities are taking the lead to stop the largest industrial project, the Tar Sands Gigaproject. Northern Alberta is ground zero with over 20 corporations operating in the tar sands sacrifice zone, with expanded developments being planned. The cultural heritage, land, ecosystems and human health of Indigenous communities including the Mikisew Cree First Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort McMurray First Nation, Fort McKay Cree Nation, Beaver Lake Cree First Nation Chipewyan Prairie First Nation, and the Metis, are being sacrificed for oil money in what has been termed a “slow industrial genocide”. Infrastructure projects linked to the tar sands expansion such as the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, Kinder Morgan pipeline, Ontario Line 9 reversal, and the Keystone XL pipeline threaten Indigenous communities across Turtle Island.

Join us to hear from Indigenous women at the front line of defending the land and communities from tar sands development and expansion.

* Territorial opening by Ta’ah, Rachelle George & Kayah George from the Tsliel-Waututh Nation who are taking a strong stand against the expansion of Kinder Morgan tar sands pipelines and tankers in their lands and waters.

* Territorial opening by Amanda Nahanee, whose ancestral name is Shamantsut, is a cultural ambassador of the Squamish Nation who have been active in opposing tar sands oil through their territories.

* Territorial opening by Cease Wyss: T’Uy’Tanat-Cease Wyss is Skwxw’u7mesh ethnobotanist, media artist, educator, and food security activist. She has stood up with other Indigenous Peoples to fight for native peoples’ rights to hunt, gather, and fish in their traditional territories.

* Crystal Lameman is a Beaver Lake Cree First Nation activist and the Peace River tar sands campaigner for the Indigenous Environmental Network in Alberta. Crystal is committed to restoring Native treaty rights and stopping the exploitation of the tar sands.

* Freda Huson is the spokesperson of the Unist’ot’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, who oppose all pipelines and mining projects in their territory. The Unist’ot’en have built a resistance camp to protect the land from the Northern Gateway, Kitimat Summit Lake Looping Project, Pacific Trails, Pembina, and Kinder Morgan proposed pipelines.

* Ta’Kaiya Blaney is a Sliammon Nation youth who made headlines when she wrote a song to speak up against the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. Since then, she has been a strong Indigenous youth voice locally and internationally advocating to protect the coast and the land against big
oil.

* Eriel Tchekwie Deranger is a Dene from the Athbasca Chipewyan First Nation of Northern Alberta, Canada. She is currently the Communications Coordinator for Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, who have recently filed a suit against oil giant Shell Oil Canada for their open-pit mining projects.

* Suzanne Dhaliwal is the co-founder of the UK Tar Sands Network, which works in solidarity with the Indigenous Environmental network to campaign against UK corporations and financial institutions invested in the Alberta Tar Sands.

* Melina Laboucan-Massimo is Lubicon Cree from Northern Alberta. She has been working as an advocate for Indigenous rights for the past 10 years. She has worked with organizations like Redwire Native Media Society and Indigenous Media Arts Society. She has joined Greenpeace as a tar sands climate & energy campaigner.

This event is organized by the Indigenous Environmental Network. IEN is an alliance of grassroots Indigenous Peoples whose mission is to protect the sacredness of Mother Earth from contamination and exploitation by strengthening, maintaining, and respecting traditional teachings and natural laws.

This event is supported by Aboriginal Front Door, Alliance for Peoples Health, Council of Canadians, Indigenous Action Movement, Mining Justice Alliance, No One Is Illegal – Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories, Occupy Vancouver Environmental Justice Working Group, Pipe Up Network, Purple Thistle Center, Rabble.ca, Streams of Justice, Tanker Free BC, Western Wilderness Committee and the International Woman’s Climate Caucus.

For more information:
Clayton Thomas Muller: monsterredlight@gmail.com
Sheila Muxlow: sheila.muxlow@gmail.com
Harsha Walia: hwalia8@gmail.com or 778 885 0040
Maryam Adrangi: madrangi@canadians.org