Anti-Colonialism

Critical Reflections & Materials to Distribute at Wet’suwet’en Solidarity Events

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Feb 112020

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Currently people are shutting down Canada, ports, rails, highways, hell the hashtag’s even trending on twitter. As anarchists we are seeing large parts of the population engage with anti-colonial and anti-capitalist movements. This engagement as our own has been in the past is tricky, and requires critical reflection.

The stench of liberalism spreads far and wide, and although many are sympathetic with Wet’suwet’en demands, confrontational tactics as expected leave many shaking at their feet. In Vancouver we have seen large symbolic arrests prioritized over effective action. Not to say there has not been effective action, people held the entrances to major ports shutting down commercial traffic for days. We should celebrate this. But when facing arrest rather than moving to say the rails or the highways they chose to wait and be arrested symbolically (subsequently released without charges).

In contrast to this a more confrontational solidarity demo happened before the raid with much heavier legal consequences for its participants. This event did not seek to climax with arrest, instead the objective was economic disruption. Currently we cannot discuss this because of charges faced by alleged participants – stay tuned.

Reflecting on the two events – some questions come to mind, why the fuck are activists so reactive? Beginning the blockades of the port before the invasion of Wet’suwet’en territory would have been incredibly advantageous from a tactical perspective. We need to move to preemptive stance. Simultaneously there would have been no “social license” no buy in from the population at large which was maybe necessary for occupations to occur without being willing to take more militant stances to defend themselves.

What does this mean for us as anarchists, are we left to simply wait for buy in from others for action? FUCK NO, we call for uncompromising desire for attack and solidarity.

Seeing these dynamics and reflecting on our own desires for continual conflict with the state, its police forces and capitalist forces at large we produced a poster and flyer to be distributed. This work was heavily inspired by Southern Wind Woman’s Autonomously and with Conviction, an amazing revolutionary text.

FUCK the police
FUCK activism
Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation
Freedom for all political prisoners
For a growing militant movement

#ShutDownCanada: Interactive Map of Rail Blockades

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Feb 102020

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

View in full screen

An interactive map showing the different blockades in progress across so-called Canada, and the rail lines affected. There are five blockades included… so far.

Useful Links :

A Callout for Rail Disruptions in Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en (including how-to guide)

Weak Points of Canada’s Resource Exploitation Economy

Chokepoints in Transportation Infrastructure

#SHUTDOWNCANADA

Injunction Served and Burnt at Tyendinaga Rail Blockade as Numbers Grow

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Feb 102020

*Call for donations for legal defence fund*

From Real People’s Media

TYENDINAGA MOHAWK TERRITORY – The rail blockade at the Wyman crossing in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory has grown in size and scope since it began Thursday afternoon. A camper trailer, porta-potty and tent have all arrived on site. And the number of people present is growing.

The reason for the blockade is simple, according to Dalton McKay. “I’m here for the support and solidarity of the Wet’suwet’en people to help support them against the destruction of their life and their homes for a pipeline,” he told Real People’s Media.

Over 50 Mohawks and supporters were gathered today where the CN rail line crosses Wyman Rd. just North of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. The Mohawk Warrior flag flew high from the crossing signal, and a large plow truck was parked just south of the tracks.

There was much stronger police and media presence at the tracks than there was in previous days. An injunction had been served the day before against “John Doe, Jane Doe and Persons Unknown”.

A large contingent of OPP and CN Rail personnel arrived with the understanding that they had more papers to serve, however the injunction was burned on the tracks in full view of media and police. After the injunction was burned in front of them the OPP and CN Rail got back in their vehicles and left quickly without serving additional papers.

A statement was circulated on social media in response.

“In regards to the “Injunction” served on the people of Tyendinaga, We the people refuse to have your laws imposed upon us. We have, and have always had our own laws and customs, prior to, during and thereafter your attempts at genocide and assimilation. A paper ordering us to vacate our land, and or allow passage of foreign goods through our territory is meaningless. We will stand our ground, and as stated, not leave until the RCMP pull out of Wet’suwet’en traditional territories.”

The mood at the site was upbeat throughout the day, and a steady stream of supporters continued to arrive with food, wood, and other needed supplies. McKay said “Support from the community has been a huge help, every day we are receiving food, water, blankets… the biggest thing we still need right now is prayers and support and firewood.” When asked about morale at the blockade, on person gestured to the coyotes who had begun howling in the distance.

The youth recognize the importance of this action. As one young Mohawk man explained it: “This is our land, this is our water, we’re just here fighting to get what is ours back and what we need for the Seven Generations to still be able to fight and have a land.”

The Federal Minister of Justice Targeted in Response to the RCMP Invasion of Wet’suwet’en Territory

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Feb 072020

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

The Canadian state isn’t invulnerable. As Canada sends an army into Wet’suwet’en territory to try to force through the Coastal GasLink pipeline, it’s time to find the weak points of this country’s economic and political power, and attack.

Last night, in response to the start of the RCMP raid, we visited the riding office of David Lametti, federal minister of justice, in Montreal. We emptied a fire extinguisher filled with paint inside after breaking a window.

No component of Canadian “justice” – not its courts, not its laws, not its cops, not its ministers – has any legitimacy on stolen land, and we will make it known.

Fuck the RCMP. Unconditional solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en land defenders.

Support the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs!

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Feb 062020

From the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs

LAND DEFENDERS NEED YOUR HELP!

Right now, at this very moment, an epic battle is taking place, the outcome of which will determine the fate of the Northwest Coast, the implications of which will be felt throughout the world for generations to come.

As you read this, the RCMP is conducting a massive operation to remove indigenous people, and their allies, from unceded Wet’suwet’en territory, so that giant petroleum companies can build a multi-billion dollar energy corridor to bring fracked gas to global markets.

The Wet’suwet’en and their allies are steadfast in their resolution to never allow that to happen.

On one side, the forces of some of the world’s biggest polluters, with the government and the RCMP carrying out their bidding, with billions upon billions of dollars backing the creation of a massive energy corridor to bring fracked gas to Kitimat for export.

On the other, indigenous people asserting their right to protect their ancestral homeland by creating a healing centre dedicated to undoing the intergenerational trauma caused by colonization.

Now, things are coming to a head, and it is time to defend the land once again.

Throughout this, many people have put their bodies on the line. Wet’suwet’en people have shown the world what true determination looks like, in their steadfast and unyielding defiance of some of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies. Furthermore, people from across Turtle Island and the world have traveled vast distances to show their solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation struggle, and have put their bodies on the line.

Court documents prove that the RCMP were prepared to use lethal force against land defenders when they raided the Gidimt’en Access Checkpoint on January 7th, 2019. It is no exaggeration to say that land defenders are risking their lives to defend the land and the water, for the benefit of future generations.

Not everyone is in a position in their lives where it makes sense for them to be able to travel to the front lines. We know that many people care deeply about this cause, and are fervently wishing that there was something that they can do to contribute to this inspiring movement. And the truth is that this movement is reliant upon the contributions of many different people using many different means to contribute energy. And one very significant way that people can meaningfully contribute is to donate.

We are asking for your help in creating a fund specifically to support people who are facing criminal charges for their role in direct action related to the defence of Wet’suwet’en territory from industry and the RCMP.

Who would be receiving this support?

This support would be received by grassroots Wet’suwet’en land defenders working under the leadership of their hereditary chiefs. Specifically, it would be received by members of the Likhts’amisyu clan, and administered by them on behalf of all arrestees facing criminal charges.

For more information on the Likhts’amisyu clan, please visit their website: www.likhtsamisyu.com.

Funds with be deposited into a share account that will be administered by members of the Likhts’amisyu clan, including Sun House chief Smogelgem and wing chiefs Dtsa’Hayl and Kloumkun. The treasurer is Angie Gagnon, chief Dtsa’Hayl’s daughter.

What would the funds be used for?

This support is needed to support people who are facing criminal charges and people who could possibly be convicted or face consequences such as incarceration, house arrest, restrictive probation conditions, court-mandated community service hours, etc… These funds would be used for such things as:

-Lawyer fees
-Transportation costs to and from court dates
-Research costs (i.e. Freedom of Information requests, analysis of disclosure, etc)
-Costs related to incarceration (phone, commissary, rent, storage locker, etc.)
-Costs related to obtaining housing upon release from jail or prison
-Cost of therapy or counseling for people undergoing psychological duress related to their arrest or experience with the criminal justice system

Funds with be deposited into an account that will be administered through an account administered by three Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and a treasurer. Decisions about the allocation of funds will be made by consensus in accordance with Wet’suwet’en law. To ensure accountability, transfers of funds will require two signatories, and financial records will be made available to other chiefs upon request.

How to donate:

E-transfers can be sent to likhtsamisyu@gmail.com. Please make the answer to the security question SaYikh2020

It is also possible to donate to the Likhts’amisyu GoFundMe page found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-wet039suwet039en-hereditary-chiefs

***Please note that because GoFundMe’s terms of service do not allow fund-raising on behalf of people accused of a crime, we are not able to use GoFundMe to raise funds specifically for a legal defence fund.***

Cheques can be written out to “Likhts’amisyu” and mailed to the chiefs. Please write likhtsamisyu@gmail.com for a mailing address.

Thank you in advance for your generous support!!!

Call-in Campaign: Telkwa and Houston Community Centres to House RCMP during Gidim’ten and Unist’ot’en Raid Attempt

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Jan 302020

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On January 4th, Wet’suwet’en members delivered an eviction notice to the CGL mancamp known as “site 9A” on Unistʼotʼen territory. CGL complied with the eviction notice, and employees and security forces completely withdrew from the territory. Shortly thereafter, there were reports of over 100 felled trees and piles of tires and accelerants blocking Morice West Forest Service Road, effectively protecting the area from industry and RCMP incursion. This unceded Wet’suwet’en land has now been liberated from Canada.

To protect this area, 4 camps extending through two clan territories have been set up along the logging road that traverses this territory. Wet’suwet’en chiefs have been steadfast in their assertion that Canadian law has no jurisdiction over the yintah, and that neither CGL nor RCMP are welcome on their territory. Over the past few weeks, while the RCMP have been gearing up to attempt to invade the territory, camps have been bolstered by a steady stream Wet’suwet’en, Gitxsan, and settler visitors. From railway sabotage, to round dances, a wide diversity of solidarity actions have been popping off all over Turtle Island.

Recently, we have learned that the community halls in Telkwa and Houston, two adjacent communities to the Gidim’ten and Unist’ot’en camps, have been rented out to house approximately 100 RCMP personnel, from January 31st, for 2 and 3 weeks respectively. Please call the community halls to ask why they choose to be complicit in the invasion of unceded Wet’suwet’en territory, and the perpetuation of the colonial relationship that resulted in the 60’s scoop, broken treaties, land theft, and genocide.

If you aren’t sure what to say, you can follow this script:

Hello;
I heard you are renting your community space to the RCMP, to help them try to raid and evict Wet’suwet’en people from their traditional territories. Unless you want your community hall to become synonymous with the same force of colonization that put the residential school system in place, you should cancel the RCMP’s reservation.

Houston Community Hall:
Houston Leisure Services
PO Box 370, Houston BC, V0J 1Z0
Phone: (250) 845 2238
Fax: (250) 845-7434
E-Mail – bookings@houston.ca

Telkwa Community Hall:
Phone: (250) 846-5212

For more information on the Gidimt’en camp: yintahaccess.com
For more information on the Unist’ot’en camp: unistoten.camp

[Video] Autoroute 720 Exit Blocked in Montreal in Support of the Wet’suwet’en

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Jan 302020

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info. Video from subMedia.

In the middle of rush hour, Thursday morning, about fifty people blocked an exit of Autoroute 720 in downtown Montreal, in solidarity with indigenous Wet’suwet’en people struggling against the construction of a pipeline on their unceded territory. Barricades were lit on fire at the corner of St-Marc and René-Levesque in order to block car traffic. A #WetsuwetenStrong banner was hung from highway signage to express solidarity with indigenous sovereignties.

This action takes place in the context of events organized in support of the Wet’suwet’en who have been resisting the destruction of their territory for over ten years. In Montreal and across Canada, many actions respond to the call for solidarity made by the Wet’suwet’en in response to the RCMP action preventing access to their territory on January 13th.

The Canadian state, via its armed forced and colonial justice, is attacking the Wet’suwet’en land defenders in order to ensure the deployment of 670 km of the Coastal GasLink liquified natural gas pipeline.

In this critical moment, let’s continue to respond to the call of the Wet’suwet’en and support their struggle by all means necessary.

More info at https://unistoten.camp

#WetsuwetenStrong

High-Capacity Rail Line Sabotaged

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Jan 192020

Anonymous submission to North Shore Counter-Info

A few nights ago, an anarchist settler sabotaged CN’s main transcontinental rail line. If TC Energy wanted to transport anything from southern Ontario or further east to CGL sites in BC, it’s likely that this they’d use this line. I was careful to choose a secluded site since it would take longer to work alone. I used the copper wire method described here. To ensure a good connection, I used steel wool and vinegar to remove rust from the tracks. I think the disruption was successful because wire sparked when I connected the tracks. I left quickly – you should still get out as soon as you can, even if you don’t feel stressed or rushed – and went home. This action was easy to do, even for a completely inexperienced person.

And especially as settlers, we should continue finding opportunities to disrupt this project. CGL continues to threaten destruction of Wet’suwet’en lands and their way of life.

Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en! We’ll continue showing the violent colonial state and CGL that we won’t back down. It’s so easy to block the infrastructure that enables exploitative projects like CGL.

Disruption of Port of Montreal during Rush Hour in Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Fighting Coastal GasLink (video)

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Jan 162020

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

This morning around 7:30am, about sixty people enraged by the invasion of Wet’suwet’en land by Coastal GasLink and the RCMP gathered in the east of Montreal. They blocked the intersection of Pie-IX Boulevard and Notre-Dame Street East in the middle of rush hour, in order to disrupt access to the Port of Montreal as well as downtown via Autoroute 720.

Banners were deployed reading “GTFO of Wet’suwet’en land” and “Solidarity with Indigenous Sovereignties”, and flyers explained the reasons for the action to motorists.

Leaving flaming barricades, the group marched westward on Notre-Dame, forming a roving blockade and building more barricades on its way.

The repressive anti-demonstration arsenal of the Montreal police fortunately did not show up, because the call to action was not spread using social media. A couple cop cars showed up toward the end.

Faced with a state seeking to destroy all relationships to the land that are not submitted to the economy, especially indigenous stewardship of indigenous land, disrupting the colonial economy is an appropriate and necessary response.

For the proliferation of offensives against the Canadian state, its economy, its social peace, and each facet of the colonial catastrophe!

Montreal Macdonald Monument vandalized with paint, in solidarity with anti-pipeline Indigenous Land Defenders

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Jan 162020

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

-> Photos: https://postimg.cc/gallery/odqgsg22/

January 16, 2020, Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal — Earlier this morning, a small group of anti-colonial artists attacked the Macdonald Monument in Montreal with blue paint, marking at least the 12th time in the past three years that the statue has been attacked in such a fashion, with clear anti-racist, anti-colonial motivations.

We undertook our action in solidarity with frontline Indigenous Land Defenders, who continue to oppose and resist the construction of pipelines on their traditional lands. We are thinking specifically of the Wet’suwet’en and Secwepemc, among others, who for years have maintained on-the-ground opposition to the construction of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) and Trans Mountain projects on their respective territories. They are not involved, directly or indirectly, in our action, but we vandalize the John A. Macdonald statue as a simple message of anti-colonial support from across Turtle Island. We encourage others to do the same.

We hit the Macdonald Monument, but our message is specifically for Justin Trudeau and the federal government (which is directly responsible for Dominion Square and its monuments in downtown Montreal). John A. Macdonald was an open racist who advocated the genocide of Indigenous peoples. While Trudeau pays lip-service to reconciliation, the reality is that the corporate-capitalist imperatives of pipelines and resource extraction trample over any meaningful and respectful engagement with Indigenous nations.

The full force of the Canadian state — militarized police, court injunctions, criminal charges, exclusion zones, police checkpoints, and compliant mainstream media — are currently being deployed against Indigenous Land Defenders (and their accomplices) on the frontlines of anti-pipeline resistance. The least we can do is symbolic gestures of solidarity; what we non-Indigenous residents of Turtle Island NEED to do is engage in meaningful acts of economic disruption. Let’s get going!

– Some Montreal anti-colonials.
info: MacdonaldMustFall@riseup.net

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