Dear Editor: On March 17, I was arrested for civil contempt outside Kinder Morgan’s gates on Burnaby Mountain. Since then, I returned to the gates a number of times, meeting a variety of folks from different walks of life. Between the encouraging songs and emotional chants, we all asked each other a simple question: what brought you here?
My journey to Burnaby Mountain began when I attended rallies, marches and demonstrations for Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine.
Suddenly, Indigenous issues were no longer Indigenous issues to me. They were wake-up calls for me, a settler born onto the unceded, unsurrendered Coast Salish territories. How much longer could I go without pretending like I did not benefit from being a settler? Without questioning Canada’s unjust judicial system? Without using my settler privilege to support and stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities?
From one settler to another, this is a call to take bold action.
This is a call out to Robert Helsley and other business school deans to be real leaders and speak up against a capitalistic system that continues to exploit Indigenous communities and ignore missing and stolen Indigenous women and youth. This is a call out to all settlers to warrior up and fight against Kinder Morgan.
The Kinder Morgan pipeline is not just an Indigenous issue. It is a reminder to settlers that we need to start respecting Indigenous sovereignty and rights to the land; a wake-up call to settlers who do not know how to prioritize the land, water and air over the unwanted Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion; and an opportunity for us settlers to finally get over ourselves and to give a damn about Indigenous sovereignty and the environment.
Betty Guan, by email
