Sep 12, 2017 - Tiny House Warriors seek to Stop the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline
Throughout unceded Secwepemc Territory, tiny houses are being constructed by water protectors to stop the construction of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline from crossing their territory.
Roughly ten tiny houses are being strategically built along the proposed pipelines route to assert “Secwepemc Law and jurisdiction” over the Tar Sands pipeline.
The Kinder Morgan pipeline, which was recently approved by Prime Minister Trudeau, if built would, “triple the amount of oil shipped from tar sands fields in Alberta from its present level of approximately 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day to the British Columbia coast.”
The existing Trans Mountain pipeline has sprung 82 recorded spills, including four major spills since Kinder Morgan bought the pipeline in 2005. Future spills, from a massively expanded pipeline, would endanger local sources of drinking water.
Numerous Tribes and First Nations have led a joint effort opposing the proposed pipeline that if built would threaten the Salish Sea.
According to Lenaord Forsman Chairman of the Suquamish Tribe, “The TransMountain Pipeline expansion threatens the ancient fishing grounds of the Suquamish Tribe. Increased traffic disrupts fishing and the real threat of oil spills puts the Salish Sea at an unreasonable risk. It is our duty as stewards to the Salish Sea to oppose this project.”
From the Tiny House Warriors home page they state, “This is one of the most serious threats to our Territories.We have never provided and will never provide our collective free, prior and informed consent – the minimal international standard – to the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline Project.
Tiny House Warriors
Investors take note, the Kinder Morgan project and any other corporate colonial project that seeks to go through and destroy our 800,000 square km of unceded territory will be refused passage through our territory. We stand resolutely together against any and all threats to our lands, the wildlife and the waterways.
We, the Secwepemc, have never ceded, surrendered, or given up our sovereign title and rights over the land, waters and resources within Secwepemcul’ecw. We have lived on our land since time immemorial and have never been conquered by war. We collectively hold title and governance regarding Secwepemcul’ecw and the collective consent of the Secwepemc is required for any access to our lands, waters and resources.
We are going big, by going small, and our first tiny house build date is set for the September 5-8th at Neskonlith (near Kamloops). By building these Tiny Houses, we are asserting our collective Secwepemc responsibility and jurisdiction to our lands and waters. Each tiny house will provide housing to Secwepemc families facing a housing crisis due to deliberate colonial impoverishment. Each home will eventually be installed with off-the-grid solar power. The Tiny House Warrior movement will be the start of re-establishing village sites and asserting our authority over our unceded Territories.
We are committed to upholding our collective and spiritual responsibility and jurisdiction to look after the land, the language and the culture of our people. The Tiny House Warriors are building something beautiful that models hope, possibility and solutions to the world. We invite anyone and everyone to join us.”
Interview with Tiny Houses Warriors by Living Big In a Tiny House
Recently, over 20 Indigenous and environmental organizations delivered an open letter to 28 major banks, calling on them to back away from funding the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project (TMEP).
“Tar sands oil is deadly, destructive, and economically infeasible,” said Tara Houska, National Campaigns Director of Honor the Earth. “Banks run on our money — we have a say in how it is invested. Without consent of indigenous nations impacted by these projects, banks are supporting sacrifice zones, while also actively contributing to climate change. Invest in renewables and our future.”
In response to the letter, both the Dutch Bank ING and the Montreal based Desjardins Group, North America’s biggest association of credit unions have stated that they will not make investments in Tar Sands pipelines.
For more information on the Tiny House Warriors visit their page here
by Wakíƞyaƞ Waánataƞ (Matt Remle- Lakota)