#yakguudang

[voicesbook]

An Update From the Road

Good Morning Deer Loves,

As our mother Earth turns us towards the sun and the seeds are rising up and growing tall much work is being done to protect land, water and Indigenous Sovereignty.

We wanted to take this moment to provide some news on this work because people on their lands doing this work need our support.

 xoxo wulf and beyon.

Wulf and two other trans white settler supporters living on Lkwungen Territory are facing charges and harsh proposed sentencing.  They are remaining strong and have connected with a lawyer who will be representing the three co-accused on a pay what you can basis.  Thank you to everyone who has been providing such incredible care, knowledge and support.

While this has been going on Wulf has been able to spend time at Flo’s farm and at Ulluisc mostly helping with getting food in the earth.  They are super grateful for all the love and support that makes it possible for them to be mobile and available on the ground especially to support the people they love.  

 Cyale

Flo and Wolverine’s farm, Cyale, is well underway with planting and much work was done by hand to weed and mulch the large strawberry patch and prepare the soil for beans, peas and potatoes.  The thing is Flo and her family are still trying to raise the funds to purchase tractor wheels, which cost about $3400.  Approximately $2600 has been raised so far.  To learn more about Flo’s work and contribute there is an online fundraiser here: https://fundrazr.com/flowolverinefarm

 Ulluisc

Christine Jack, caretaker of Ulluisc, is hosting 3 gatherings over the coming months.

On June 3rd Ulluisc will be hosting a walk and talk with Elders from 10 am to 2pm. June 19th to 23rd is the Women's Gathering at Ulluisc. This event is for Women identified people of all walks of life (this means trans women and two-spirit people wanting to work with woman energy welcome.)

 The third gathering is the All Others Gathering for Two-Spirit, Queer and Trans identified folks.  More details to come!

 For more information check out Christine’s most recent update video:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDBve6oBFTs

 And here is the event page for the Women’s gathering:

 https://www.facebook.com/events/523978791059714/

  To make monetary donations cheques can be mailed to PO Box 1188 Lillooet BC V0K 1V0.

 There is also a fundraiser for Ulluisc on Coast Salish Territory, vancouver bc, on May 29th.  

 https://www.facebook.com/events/258251721314546/permalink/270555103417541

 Lil’wat

The Indigenous Leadership Academy is building a Pit House in Lil'wat a part of the St'at'imc Nation. This is an educational project that revives Indigenous ways of being through teaching, and living.

 They are raising funds here: https://www.chuffed.org/project/pit-house-indigenous-architecture-revival-project#

 Yakguudang

Tsimshian, Haida and Nisga’a Water Protector Goot-Ges is currently raising funds to cover the cost for her and three other Indigenous Mothers on Tsimshian territory to take a trauma healing course as part of the preparations in establishing a safety plan for Girls and Women in the city of Prince Rupert.  With industry moving forward with export facilities on unceded waters the threat of Man Camps housing thousands of transient and exploited workers pose serious threats of violence against women.

 You can donate directly to Goot-Ges’s work through e-transfer here: [email protected]

 And learn more about her work here: https://yakguudangjournies.wordpress.com/

  Secwepemc

Secwepemc Women Warriors threw down recently at the Imperial Metals AGM where one supporter was arrested and later released.

 https://www.facebook.com/100012060671019/videos/303883980023622/

 And they are getting themselves and their people organized and need your support:

 FUNDRAISING APPEAL for the Secwepemc'ulecw Assembly All settler comrades, friends and allies, Elders and women from the Secwepemc nation are hosting a nation-wide Secwepemc’ulecw Assembly on the land in June. The goals of the Assembly are to discuss and take action under Secwepemc law against colonial corporate development impacting Secwepemc’ulecw without Collective Consent. One of the imminent concerns is to resist Kinder Morgan's pipeline expansion. The Assembly will be taking place on the land close to where the pipeline is proposed to cross. The LARGEST Indigenous territory that Kinder Morgan crosses is in fact Secwepemc territory. The pipeline would carry 900,000 barrels a day of diluted bitumen through 518 km of Secwepemc territory. This Assembly is rooted in the vision of beloved Secwepemc leader Arthur Manuel. Shortly before he passed away, he wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: "We do not accept that the federal government can make this decision unilaterally and without the prior informed consent of the Secwepemc people as the rightful titleholders... Any leakage would immediately threaten the pacific salmon who spawn in the Thompson and Fraser River basins. It is not surprising that most Secwepemc people are in complete solidarity with the Water Protectors from Standing Rock North Dakota. Our waters are also sacred." Secwepemc women, elders and nation members are volunteering their time, energy and labour to host this assembly. They write, "The Secwepemc peoples' have survived the impacts of colonialism (disease, residential schools, the Indian Act) and maintain our original instructions to look after the water, plants, and animals." *** HOW TO SUPPORT **** As settlers, our responsibilities must also be unwavering and unequivocal - to support Indigenous Peoples affirming collective Indigenous law over their territories. As settlers and organizations, we daily materially benefit from living and working on lands that are unjustly seized and occupied. One concrete way to support is to financially resource this grassroots effort. ** We suggest all settlers donate at least one day of their wage or whatever you can contribute to resourcing this Assembly. ** The fundraising goal is $15,000 for food, tents, gas and transportation costs, elders lodging, sound equipment and more. Etransfer funds to: [email protected] Question: What is this for? Password: Assembly. or Cheques to Janice Billy, Treasurer, George Manuel Institute, Unit B – 5836 Trans Canada Highway, Chase, BC, V0E 1M0. Everyone also email [email protected] if you are sending an etransfer or cheque with the amount being sent and if and how you would like to be included in the list of thank yous. Thank you for contributing to this struggle and strengthening collective Secwepemc governance. Share this far and wide.

xoxo

[voicesbook]

The government never changed its agenda: take away their land, take away their food sources, especially the food sources, if you take away the food you take away the people and then we would become even more dependent upon them, fully assimilated and believe that we're Canadian.  This makes us more wiling to participate in the destruction of our lands and waters for so called financial benefits or economy or jobs. 

–Goot-Ges

I feel at times in my life I've been really disconnected from the earth.  I've lived in the city, you know spent a lot of time in places where there is just concrete around you and eating foods form stores where I have no idea who harvested the foods and no idea how to be responsible for feeding myself.  I have come to realise that here we have everything we need in this region to live and thrive and the more wild plants I learn that I can eat the more grateful I am and realise that we don't need to be looking elsewhere and manufacturing all kinds of harmful awful things that are bad for you.  I'm grateful and I feel like when there are things that you are grateful for you have to work damn hard to keep them and honour them.

–Christie Brown

The way things are going today as indigenous people we're heavily criminalized for saying "I want the right to clean air," "I want the right clean water" and "I want the right for our food sources to be protected for not only my generation, but my children's generation and the next generations to come." 

-Goot-Ges

Goot-Ges is a Haida, Nisga’a and Tsimshian woman from the village of skulls, Gingolx, in the Nisga’a Nation whose clan is Raven from the house of T'tanihaulk.  She is a land defender, freelance writer, radio producer and independent mother of three.  In August of 2015 in collaboration with four other Indigenous women Goot-Ges began an occupation at Lax U’u’la, which continues to protect the island and surrounding waters from destruction to this day.  Her work is rooted in cultural practice: prayer, story telling and medicine as healing and an integral aspect of resistance to ongoing colonization.  She has founded and supported countless projects assisting her people in healing inter-generational trauma and ending gender based violence. 

Check out Goot-Ges’ most recent project Yakguudan, which means ‘to respect all life’ in Haida.

Christie Brown of Gitxan and Scottish descent has worked to defend the lands, waters, salmon and lives of her people against the Northern Gateway pipeline and Petronas’ Pacific North West LNG export facility.  Her creative forms of resistance merge the contemporary tools at hand with the revitalization of traditional skills and hereditary systems.  In August of 2015 in collaboration with 4 other Indigenous women Christie organized and began an occupation of Lax U’u’la on unceded Tsimshian territory.  Christie’s work defending Lax U’u’la, the Flora Banks and it’s protective eelgrass and the Skeena River continues to this day. 

Support Christie and her work upholding Tsimshian Law to protect Lax U’u’la for future generations.

[voicesbook]

Seeking Support!

Good Morning Dear Ones,

Our friend Goot-Ges reached out to us last night as she is trying to get her daughter Kwiadda up to the Unist'ot'en Art camp. Goot-Ges is an incredible land defender, healer, story-teller and Mama and it would be incredible to get her and her daughter to the camp.  (She is also one of the participants in this book and interviews Wulf on the radio!)   We let her know that we would share her request for support, found below.  Please share this with your peeps and send some funds, anything helps, if you can.  Any contributions (or prayers and messages of love) can be made by e-transfer to [email protected] .  Thank you lovelies, Beyon and Wulfgang ********* Hello,

My name is Goot-Ges, an independent mother of three beautiful babies. I am Nisga'a, Tsimshian, and Haida. Came to the city for some healing, and to have some safety for me and my children. Had some money saved up to be on this trip,or to secure a new place to live, but had some unexpected vehicle repairs, which ended up being double than what I could afford.

My oldest child Kwiadda is trying to make it to the Youth Art Camp at Unistoten, July 18-29th. We are currently in Vancouver, and are looking to get back to the north for the camp. I just finished working on a blog to outline what our journey is, as my big project right now is Yakguudang, this translates into Respect all life in Haida language. The vision behind Yakguudang is to keep our coast clean from any potential oil and gas projects. Healthy environments create healthy communities. And i believe that social justice and environmental justice are connected. 

Our last project with Yakguudang was stopping Naikun wind farms from developing in Haida Waters to power WCC lng export facility being proposed for tuck inlet in unceded Tsimshian land of Prince Rupert. That was a success, to date no project there. If anyone can help us out in anyway, it would be greatly appreciated.

Click here to find out how you can get involved Thank you for your time, and anything will help us. Even a good prayer, or a message of love.

Sincerely,

Goot Ges, aka Fire Woman.