For the second time in just two weeks, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has spoken publicly about the Wetâsuwetâen solidarity protests in Canada. Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, the 17-year-old shared her support for the cause, urging her followers to do the same. Thunberg also shared a âWetâsuwetâen supporter toolkit,â which provides information about how to get involved in the pipeline protests.
Greta Thunberg has taken to Twitter once again to share her opinion about the ongoing Coastal GasLink protests that are taking place across Canada.
In a tweet early on Tuesday morning, the young activist shared a âWetâsuwetâen supporter toolkitâ with her 4 million followers, which gives information about how people can get involved with the solidarity demonstrations.
Thunberg added the message, âSupport the Wetâsuwetâen Nation and the pipeline protests happening now in Canada! #WetsuwenStrong.â
Her post comes as marches and blockades continue to disrupt rail services across the country, and as tensions continue to rise between activists and the Canadian Government.
Last week, Wetâsuwetâen supporters promised that they are "not going anywhere,â despite demonstrating in conditions of -24 C.
Just hours after it was posted, Thunberg's tweet had more than 1,500 retweets and 5,000 likes.
The toolkit that was shared as part of Thunbergâs tweet provides information about how people from across the globe can get involved in the Canadian solidarity protests.
Advice includes visiting the region to help protestors, fundraising for legal costs, contacting the Canadian Parliament to demand action, and signing pledges.
The website also has a wishlist page, where organizers can tell supporters what supplies they are in need of.
This isnât the first time that Thunberg has spoken out about the pipeline activism thatâs happening in Canada.
Earlier this month, the 17-year-old took to Twitter to make her opinion on the matter known.
Retweeting a post from a Vancouver-based climate activist, Thunberg wrote, "Indigenous rights = Climate justice."
She added the hashtags "#WetsuwetenStrongâ and â#KeepItInTheGround."
The Indigenous nation has been opposing the new Coastal GasLink pipeline since last year.
Wetâsuwetâen hereditary chiefs say they have not given their consent to the construction project, and they have accused the company of violating traditional laws.
In a press release earlier this month, they explained, âThe Dinï zeâ and Tsâakë zeâ [the hereditary chiefs] continue to resist colonial and gendered violence against Wetâsuwetâen people, and to protect Wetâsuwetâen lands for future generations.â
Future_Dadbod on February 23rd, 2020 at 11:53 UTC »
Just found out about this and reading through the comments I can honestly say I just am not informed enough to have an opinion.
mta0123 on February 23rd, 2020 at 10:36 UTC »
Alright, I’m someone from the community within the Wet’suwet’en area, and it is super important to realize how misinformed this is. Many people just are hearing “First Nations rights are being tested by big oil companies”. This is not the fucking case. The Wet’suwet’en reserve is actually 234 people. The elected chiefs have all been voted in and were all for the pipeline. This is because the community is relatively poor, and this deal would put 300 million into their community. This obviously doesn’t translate to a million per person or so since it is given to the band office to be spent where the community needs, but it would shape their lives for the better. The hereditary chiefs who actually have no power are against this, and they don’t represent the people. Many have fetal alcohol syndrome and other medical conditions which also inhibit their ability to represent the people (Source: I know them). Most of them are non-democratic or don’t work the way redesigned reserves do. This is the reason they were not elected. They aren’t putting the community’s best interest forward and don’t understand what’s going on themselves. Many people say they should be respected since it is part of assimilation to destroy the traditional ways of doing things. While this does use the system they all agreed to and not that of their ancestors, this is a new era of democracy, and while tradition should be respected, the whole community supporting an idea and then getting backlash from a few people who are claiming leadership by blood right is crazy and not degenerative to their tradition.
People need to understand that the community wants this, and honestly, they need this. The hereditary chiefs are stopping their community, which wants the 300 mil deal, from entering the community. To put this in perspective, about 3% of the Wet’suwet’en people are against the pipeline. If this same amount was provided to say Vancouver assuming a population of 2 million, this amount proportionately would be about 2 trillion dollars put to the community. I’d like to think this is an important comparison, because although it can’t be applied, it shows the scale. If a 2 trillion dollar deal was put in Vancouver, and 50000 people opposed the deal, would the community care? Probably not since it is a huge amount of money. The Wet’suwet’en people are very similar.
The other and probably largest issue is the lack of communication. The hereditary chiefs are not willing to communicate with anyone arguing for the pipeline on this manner. This means that no progress can be made. This is very undiplomatic, and yet another reason these people aren’t fit to lead.
Learn what’s going on. These protests aren’t supporting the people. They are supporting a very small few.
VanceKelley on February 23rd, 2020 at 06:02 UTC »
I take no issue with using free speech to express opposition to the fossil fuel industry. Based on this synopsis, it sounds like that is what she is advocating. She's not advocating blocking CN rail lines.