Update on Aboriginal People's Rights and Anti-Fracking in New Brunswick

[CN: racism, colonialism, police violence. Video link in first para includes brief images of armed police, and of a woman showing bruises received from police.]

A judge refused an indefinite injunction against protestors at Rexton, NB Monday, dashing the hopes of SWN and the government of New Brunswick that the demonstrations could be permanently blocked. It is a significant victory:

“We were crying in the courtroom,” said Susan Levi-Peters, former chief of Elsipogtog. “It’s been a long fight.”

She said that although the injunction has been lifted and SWN has removed their equipment, the encampment will leave when seismic testing stops.

“Everybody said, as long as there’s no testing done, we’re not going to protest,” said Levi-Peters. “If the testing continues and there’s no dialogue or anything like that then we’ll probably be standing at the picket line again.”

Sacred Fire New Brunswick has a first-person account of Monday’s courtroom here. An excerpt:

While waiting in court for the proceedings to begin, we chatted with the sheriff. He seemed like a really nice guy, so we asked if we could sing. He said sure, as long as it wasn’t too loud, as to bother the other court sessions going on on the same floor. We sang the Mother Earth Song. The sheriff said we should take it on the road and sooth some of the uprising in prisons, because it was such a soothing song. Once that proceeding was over (held over) we quickly headed to the swn court room.

The swn court room was packed. The same sheriff came in, and said “if you guys want to sing in this room too, it’s okay with me” and we sang the Strong Woman Song. It was beautiful.

The swn lawyer looked defeated. Judge Rideout didn’t read his entire decision, but quickly said the injunction was denied, and people could read his entire decision later. Copies were made available.

The swn lawyer rode the elevator with two women who were talking about the love in the room. He asked “do you still love me?” and they gave him a hug, and told him he still had time to come over to our side. Priceless!

@Stimulator has more from the courtroom on Twitter.

SWN has removed their equipment from the site. Meanwhile, 9 of those arrested are still in jail, awaiting bail hearings today and tomorrow.

The Assembly of First Nations Chiefs called for New Brunswick to suspend the permits granted to SWN. A petition against further RCMP violence has reached 20,000 signatures as of this morning. Solidarity protests have continued across Canada. A very few: in Nova Scotia at the102; in Corner Brook, Newfoundland; in Montreal. If you are looking for a way to show support, Idle No More has suggestions.

Although he’s only Tweeting infrequently, it may be of interest that actor Tahmoh Penikett (Continuum, Man of Steel, Bomb Girls, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, etc) (@tahmohPenikett), whose mother is from the White River First Nation, has tweeted his support. (If anyone knows of other internationally-known First Nations actors/performers/figures who are supporting this cause, feel free to leave that information in comments.)

The CBC has some legal background here. The key point: although the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet nations signed treaties with the British in 1760 and 1761, they did so as sovereign nations who did not surrender their land, but rather granted permission for the British to settle it. A variety of hard-fought court decisions have confirmed this principle and its implications:

Rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada and lower courts have established a duty to consult and accommodate aboriginal people when development is considered on their land, even non-reserve traditional lands. Since the mid-'80s, aboriginal groups have recorded 186 victories in lawsuits over resource development, a 90 per cent success rate.

Over at the Guardian, Martin Lukacs reminds us that the images of burning cars were always a distraction from the real motives behind last week’s raid:

There is only one reason the police were unleashed. Not because of the New Brunswick Premier's claims about the dangers of an "armed encampment"; protestors had been unswervingly non-violent for months. Ever since 2010, when New Brunswick handed out 1.4 million hectares of land – one-seventh of the province – to shale gas exploration, opposition had been mounting. Petitions, town hall meetings, marches on legislature had slowly transformed to civil disobedience, and in October, to the blockade of equipment that Texan SNW Resources was using for seismic testing. The company was losing $60,000 daily, and the non-violent defiance had put a wrinkle in the Premier's plans for a resource boom. The blockade had to go.

By the way, those “violent” Native people? Voluntarily removed the burned-out cars using shovels and a tow truck. “ ‘I took it on my own personally, just being a good neighbour to the people of Rexton, NB.,’ said [Chief Arron] Sock.”

Please feel free to leave your own news, links, and teaspooning opportunities in the comments. This is an ongoing situation. As always, make sure to include the appropriate content notes and respect the safe space; wishes of violence against any person are never welcomed here.