Kelly Lake Cree Nation Denounces Pipeline Bombings
On October 17th, the Kelly Lake Cree Nation released a statement (below)
denouncing the recent attempts to sabotage a nearby gas pipeline in
northeast British Columbia.
On October 11th and 16th there were two separate explosions directed at
the pipeline, which is owned by the Calgary-based EnCana corporation.
Neither explosion caused any serious damage to the pipeline, however the
second one created a small rupture that forced its temporary closure. As
root force explains, “workers had been on high alert since the first
incident, [so] they discovered the leak before much of the gas… could
escape or affect nearby communities.”
Six days ago there was a third explosion at the pipeline, which caused a
second rupture. Once again the pipeline was closed and repaired.
A word to the uninformed
Following the discovery of the second rupture, a company spokesperson
said there was “very minimal damage” to the pipeline and no cause for
alarm. Nevertheless, it is important to understand what the local
communities could have - and may still be faced with. The pipeline
carries “sour gas,” a natural gas that contains high concentrations of
the odorless and toxic compound Hydrogen sulfide.
Hydrogen sulfide occurs naturally in the environment as well as in our
bodies, so it’s harmless under normal circumstances. However, too much
exposure to the toxic compound can prove fatal.
Its effect on the human body resembles that of Hydrogen cyanide, which,
as you may already know, is listed as one of the world’s chemical
warfare agents. Low level exposure to Hydrogen sulfide can result in
nausea, shortness of breath, eye irritation and fluid in the lungs.
Exposure to high concentrations can cause death. The compound
essentially deprives the human body of its ability to process oxygen —
and it does so quietly.
That said, EnCana is undoubtedly monitoring the levels of Hydrogen
sulfide around the pipeline. If the levels begin to climb (or skyrocket
as a result of an explosion) an emergency evacuation procedure would be
set in motion.
Blame the Indian
There’s a lot of ’speculation’ coming from non-natives and the media
about who’s behind these incidents. For the most part they are blaming
the easy red target, the Kelly Lake Cree.
It’s true that the First Nation has been protesting against the company
over a number of concerns, including matters of financial compensation
and health and safety issues. However, by the same logic and reasoning
non-natives could just as well be responsible for it. After all, there
were non-natives taking part in the protests too!
Furthermore, all the protests have been peaceful. Even when Kelly Lake
members set up a roadblock last June, and were faced with “angry and
dangerous” non-native Canadians who “blasted through” with their cars,
nearly running over four people—the First Nation remained peaceful.
Adding more fuel to blame the Cree Nation, an ‘unrecognized band’
according to the federal Government, there was an anonymous letter sent
out before the first bomb went off. The letter warned the company to
shut down its operation and leave the region, stating in part: “We will
not negotiate with terrorists, which you are as you keep on endangering
our families with crazy expansion of deadly gas wells in our homelands.”
The statement clearly implicates someone from the Kelly Lake Cree — but
,again, it could have just as easily been authored by a non-native.
If there’s any doubt in your mind about this possibility, just think of
all the times that non-natives (and again, the media) blamed members of
the Six Nations for sabotage around Caledonia, Ontario.
Almost all of those incidents later turned out to have been led by
non-natives.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the history was repeating itself
here, especially with the specter of racism on the rise as it is in Canada.
Meanwhile, the Kelly Lake Cree Nation maintains that they’re not the
ones to blame.
Encana Explosion Media Release - Updated October 17th 2008
As’in’a’wa’chi Ni’yaw Traditional Territory (Kelly Lake) – As a
community we are
of course frightened and concerned regarding the series of atrocities
that occurred within this area this past week. Through media reports, it
is my understanding the two serious incidents occurred on subsidiary
lines which did not include the mainline short of an H2S leak.
Our people are living with anxiety and are uneasy with the unknown of
whether
there may be further destruction that may cause a fatal blow-out. The
citizens who live in the area, who are working with pipelines, trappers
and hunters are on high alert. There continues to be extreme heightened
awareness regarding human safety and who would do such a thing to
endanger the lives to people in the area and to our community? What has
come to my attention regarding some negative comments made indirectly
through local media which mentions the proximity of the explosions to
the Kelly Lake community.
We wish to reassure the Public that we do not support illegal activity
or unlawful acts of violence that would involve or endanger the lives of
people. I can assure you the citizens of Kelly Lake would never be
involved in such actions. Any unlawful act is not restricted to any
particular race, color, creed or political motivation. There is no
defense for people who choose to go against the law. Our only concern is
that the media does not give a negative reflection related to Kelly
Lake, to the public.
It’s irrational to society when people create meaningless labels
intended only to incite irrational emotions and the media is used to
place biases the public may find
personally disagreeable. As you know we have lived in this area since
time immemorial and a majority of our families work in the oil and gas
sector. Our first concern is that if any pipeline ruptures, the human,
wildlife and environmental impacts would be devastating to all
surrounding communities. We acknowledge that our community periodically
has had differences in values but like other concerned Canadians this
type of extreme activity of placing people’s lives in danger would not
be tolerated.
As we have made all Industry groups aware during meetings we do face
many challenges
regarding the health and safety of our community. This expression is
brought out through the many meetings we have had with industry groups
with regard to emergency response preparedness and evacuation planning
for the citizens of Kelly Lake.
In terms of the community disaster drill that was held on our
traditional lands this past summer, I want to assure you that at no time
did my people threaten the safety of the public or industry. In fact a
majority of the Public acknowledged the importance of working with First
Nations people and stated that they have the same health and safety
concerns in the Northeast part of the Province. There are other
non-aboriginal people in the area who have witnessed the cumulative
impacts of energy development in Northeast British Columbia. Engaging in
any shocking and cruel act-that may endanger the lives of the Public- is
not a way of life or teaching of our people. We are hard working
tax-paying members of society who want the same as the average citizen
of Canada. The health and safety of our country is paramount.
We are not opposed to development within our traditional lands and we
believe that working with industry on all energy related matters will
provide a voice for First Nations to look at the enormous opportunities
and challenges ahead.
We have expressed our deep concerns on how large-scale projects in
northeastern BC, not
only impact our Aboriginal Title and Rights but as well as the immediate
and cumulative
environmental impacts of such proposals. We are the stewards of the
lands that we continue to inhabit and as Canadians we should all be very
mindful of our future generations’ environmental inheritance. We also
know that it is of more important to work together on these vital
issues. We do not believe in violence and I am not aware of any citizen
of Kelly Lake who has ever engaged in acts of extreme violence.
We know that it’s not industry’s obligation to consult with First
Nations and we want the public to know that we are proactively engaging
the federal and provincial governments to ensure our voices are heard.
This process is through legal and negotiated mechanisms that we are
actively engaging in at this time.
We are concerned for Public safety, Encana and its employees and the
terrible position we all have been placed in this past week. We sent a
letter to Encana advising the same. On behalf of the citizens of Kelly
Lake, we are watching out for unusual activity in the area. Should we
observe anything, we will advise Encana and the R.C.M.P. We will be
attending the town hall meeting in Tomslake, B.C. to find out further
information regarding the support that our community also needs
regarding the health and safety of our citizens. We are in support of
the efforts of the RCMP and hope they will find the offenders soon, so
they can be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.
With respect,
Kwarakwante Cliff Calliou
Tribal Chief
Kelly Lake Cree First Nation
