The Alma Mater Society of UBC Vancouver stands in solidarity with the people of Wet’suwet’en Nation and the Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en camps in their struggle against the development of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. Further, we support Wet’suwe’ten jurisdiction, governance, and law – particularly the decisions of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs. We recognize that our student society stands on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Musqueam people, and that we have a duty as settlers on this land to decolonize and strive for true reconciliation.
The Wet’suwet’en peoples have inherent rights and title that is recognized through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) – recognized by the Provincial Government November 2019 – as well as the 1997 Delgamuukw decision. The forceful removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands contradicts those movements toward true reconciliation and fulfilment of UNDRIP.
The AMS of UBC Vancouver recognizes that the actions taken on Wet’suwet’en territories continues the violence of colonialism on Indigenous lands and peoples. We urge the Provincial and Federal governments to prioritize free, prior, and informed consent and remind them that complicity in this situation is not acceptable.
As many Indigenous land defenders have done, we call upon the BC Provincial Government to uphold their commitments to UNDRIP, remove all RCMP presence from Wet’suwet’en lands, and respect the traditional laws and governance of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. We call upon other student communities and organizations to also stand with the Wet’suwet’en in their call for solidarity.
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