Wet'suwet'en Solidarity Rally

Last weekend, Mi'kmaq grandmothers and their allies held a rally on Canso Causeway to support ongoing blockades around the country. Protesters handed out flyers, saying their goal was to inform the public.

Starting off with a ceremony, and moving on to drums and song, the 2-hour protest had fewer than 100 people in attendance – police presence never too far behind. Most drivers rolled down their windows to receive the flyers, many honked in support. But not everyone was sympathetic with their cause, as some drivers sped away or even shouted curse words.

Mi'kmaq organizers say they have a responsibility to support their fellow First Nations conducting the blockades. One of the organizing grandmothers, Elizabeth Marshall said, “My relations in Ontario and in Quebec, the Mohawk, who we share wampum with, we share treaty with - we have a duty to support them. And we have a duty to support our relations in B.C.”

While critics worry about the impact of the blockades on the economy, protesters say they’re speaking out against long-standing issues that affect many more people than critics realize. “This is about Indigenous sovereignty,” protester Sheena Cameron said, “but what are bound up in it are also issues of environmental justice, Earth justice, climate justice. And so I think that all of that comes into place when we think about the future and future generations and how we need to live together peaceably and in harmony with the Earth (…) I feel like everyone should be trying to educate themselves more about these issues because I think that when we truly understand what’s at the heart of all this, then more people would probably be out here today.”

The rally wasn’t only about what’s going on in other parts of Canada. Protesters talked about issues facing Indigenous communities right here in the region. “How many centuries have we been here in Sydney?” Duncan Gould, who handed flyers to drivers throughout the protest, said, “How many Native people are working in the city of Sydney? Three? Five? If that. However, Membertou is the third largest employer in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. I think half or over half of its workforce are non-First Nations. So, when we talk about sharing, when we talk about our resources are your resources, you couldn’t find a better example of giving, of sharing to this day. But a Native person can’t buy a job in Sydney.”

Motivations behind the nation-wide protests seem to be multifaceted: they raise other questions besides the pipeline in B.C. Indigenous communities are talking about their place is Canadian society.

National train track blockades have been going on for 22 days now, interrupting the transportation of propane and other goods. Although it has caused problems for businesses in other parts of the country, CHNE spoke with several businesses in the Chéticamp area and all of them said they haven’t felt the effects of the blockades so far.