#noline9

Water is sacred. We are made up of water just like parts of the surface of the earth. Water is our first teaching, it sustains life. Can you imagine a place where the water is considered toxic? This is life in Aamjiwnaang.

It is important to empower ourselves as stewards of the water, as government and industry have downplayed, ignored and actively worked to repress information about water pollution in Chemical Valley. By conducting our own water testing of pollutants in our territories, we build the knowledge, skills, and resources to get answers about long standing questions about the level and nature of contamination in Aamjiwnaang. We also have strong alliances with researchers who have expressed concern about the impacts they have seen, particularly given recent research into the impacts of pollutants on women in Chemical Valley.

The money raised with this fundraiser will help pay for tests for heavy metals, PAH’s, and PCB’s on water/sediment samples of creeks and ponds in Aamjiwnaang’s territories. One-third of chemical valley sits on lands stolen from the Aamjiwnaang people.

ASAP water and sediment testing initiative will consist of collect samples, writing a community report of results. Conducting water testing by sending samples to independent labs for analysis, working with university partners, communicating results back to community (i.e. videos, written reports, social media)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DAM LINE 9 PROTESTORS EMERGE FROM FINAL COURT APPEARANCE

April 20, 2015

Woodstock, Anishinabek Territory – This morning, five individuals involved in last summer's “Dam Line 9” protest attended the Woodstock Court House for their final appearance.  The group faced charges of mishchief, obstruction and disobey court order following their refusal to leave a blockade site which was preventing construction on Enbridge's Line 9 pipeline in August 2014.  Today marks the conclusion of related court proceedings for all protestors, with discharges being granted for four of the five individuals.  The fifth individual was given a suspended sentence with probation, having incurred additional charges from her involvement in previous anti-petroleum actions.

         Wrapping up 8 months of legal back-and-forth, the defendants insist that Line 9, and similar projects, still pose dangerous problems that require a strong challenge from people in Ontario and Quebec. “The tar sands and fracking are still lethal industrial projects,” said defendant Rachel Avery. “Line 9 represents the reach of tar sands destruction and expansion here in south western Ontario, so it's a crucial point of environmental protection.”

         The activists agree that their experiences with Dam Line 9 were both important and educational. Avery pointed out that “Line 9 resistance has helped us build connections, communities, and relationships in struggle and we will to continue that work. We aren't done fighting!”

         Moving forward, all five protestors emphasized the high importance of connecting environmental activism with Indigenous sovereignty as well as other social justice work. Wolf Chrapko elaborated that “colonialism is the driving force behind these issues. Dangerous projects almost always cause the most damage to Indigenous territories and immigrant communities, because rich white people don't want to live near their own industrial sites. So people of colour end up getting punished for defending their homes and lands. We all walked out of court today with minimal legal consequences, and the fact that we are all white plays a huge role in that.” The activists went on to say that race and class privilege are important tools for environmentalists to use strategically. “Every contribution is valuable, whether it's painting a banner or helping a neighbour cook dinner,” says Erica Rathie. “We aren't saying that everyone needs to get arrested at a protest to make change. It's safer for me to put myself in that situation for lots of reasons. I know the police won't racially profile me, I don't have kids, I haven't been targeted for petty crimes in the past, and things like that. Because of my privilege, getting arrested last summer hasn't created big problems in my life, but that's not true for everyone.”

The statement below was originally drafted before the injunction and subsequent removal of those blockading the Westover Terminal. Our call for support and solidarity only grows larger. 18 people were arrested on site on the morning of June 26th, including members of the GOAL Network. We have donated to the legal fund for those arrested as a result of this action and we encourage all member campaigns and members to offer support in any way they can. Since the morning of Thursday June 20th, a blockade has halted all construction at the Enbridge Line 9 Terminal in Westover. That blockade is an attempt to directly stop attempts by Enbridge to convert this decades old pipeline, that runs from Windsor to Montreal, and redirect it's flow to carry tar sands bitumen. The public process for opposing this pipeline alteration has been a farce and concerned community members, environmentalists, organizers, advocates, Haudenosaunee and Onkwehonwe folks, have taken a stand in a way that halts construction, conveys opposition and also minimizes any threat to public safety or inconvenience for the local residents. As pipelines intersect, so to do the reasons for opposing them. This blockade, a serious and important stand, is a space for all those who oppose to get involved and share their vision and skills. As animal liberationists, we recognize the importance of wilderness defense and oppose the tar sands, fracking, mining and uranium extraction, sprawl and environmental destruction. Protecting what is wild is just as important as advocating for other animal species that have been domesticated and/or held captive by human society. We urge all members and member campaigns to direct support to Westover and hope that animal liberationists in Ontario (and beyond) will use resistance to things like the tar sands as an entry point to both bring forward a liberationist perspective and also connect and be shaped by organizing with those who share concern.