Wet’suwet’en Rights and Title: Agreement
Written by Paul Graif on 1 May 2020
A deal has been struck between the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and the BC Provincial and Federal Governments. They issued a joint statement yesterday. It reads:
“We welcome the confirmation that the Wet’suwet’en clans have completed their review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) we reached together on February 29, 2020 to affirm and implement Wet’suwet’en title and rights and have given their support to sign it. We look forward to advancing this important work to implement Wet’suwet’en rights and title as three equal governments.”
It’s a situation that is being followed quite closely by the People of the Longhouse in Kahnawake. Kanentokon Hemlock sits as a community Bear Clan Chief.
“We have been waiting for this statement for some time and we knew that they were in negotiations and that an offer was on the table. And so, seeing that Wet’suwet’en people had agreed to portions of what had been put forward, it’s a substantial victory, but it’s also, at the core level of it, the issue of the land is still there and it’s still a point of contention from what we understand.”
Hemlock says they will continue to support their brothers and sisters in BC.
“From our end we’re going to continue to monitor the situation as it moves forward because we know that the pipeline still remains to be an issue out there, so we’re going to continue to show that support for the Wet’suwet’en people as this issue continues forward.”
The Wet’suwet’en have invited BC Minister Scott Fraser and Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett to sign the MOU on May 14th.
