Sacred Headwaters Drill Take Over

On Tuesday September 10th, the Klabona Keepers and the folks at beauty camp had a picnic at Fortune Minerals drill in the Sacred Headwaters.
To learn more visit
Klabona Keepers on Facebook.

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Subtitles by the Radical Access Mapping Project
http://radicalaccessiblecommunities.wordpress.com/subtitled-videos/

[ soft melodic music begins... ]

[ sound of running stream... ]

[ singing... ]

...you believe they unlocked their drill,

and they don't even have that, uh, spill tray...

[ laughter ]

i'm sick and tired of the Provincial government,

_______ country.

Sick and tired of the Mining Act, it rules the world.

Shut 'er down, boys!

Call your helicopter, ...

[ a little laughter and indistinguishable talking ]

[ RCMP officer ] What i'm wondering is, was your plan to disrupt the drill crew from their work?

[ Klabona Keeper ] No! The drill crew is disrupting us from our life.

We're just out here being ourselves,

like we've done for 10,000 years.

And they're chasing all the game away with their choppers,

I mean, like, this is not our life,

to be out here having a confrontation with people from Ontario,

never mind having the RCMP guarding and watching everything that you do out here.

This is not our life.

Our life is peaceful out here.

Our life is to come out here and enjoy,
and eat our food and go home.

There's some of the people
have been here for one month.

[ RCMP officer ] Yes, we've been here for a month.

i know most of these people...

[ Klabona Keeper ] ... our camps used to... street right over there...

used to be able to come out into this open,

sometimes we'd be lucky... see something...

come out now and there's a drill.

right where we hunted,

We're not doing anything wrong.

They're doing something wrong.

They're wrong.

We're not wrong.

[ RCMP officer ] i know, well the discussion that i had with the people before,

and we're not, we're not here...

i mean you can say what you want...

but we're not here to guard Fortune Minerals.

We're not here to guard the Beauty Camp.

We're here to make sure that everybody has a right to do what they legally are entitled to do, right?

Now, you guys have a right to be here,

you guys have a right to protest here.

i'm not trying to tell you what you can or can't do.

However, um, Fortune Minerals, as you know, has a permit that was issued by the BC Government, right?

To do their environmental assessment work that they're doing.

So for you guys to protest that work is fine,

if it stops them from doing the work that they're doing, then it's not longer a peaceful protest, right?

[ Klabona Keeper ] So who gave them the right to be here?

[ RCMP officer ] The Province of British Columbia.

[ Klabona Keeper ] The Province of British Columbia has this territory occupied,

it's no different than the Gaza Strip.

In Israel.

This land has never been treatied,

only 8% of this land down in the Lower Mainland has been treatied by the Douglas Treaties.

Otherwise, it's all occupied.

You're walking on occupied territory.

So who has the right?

We have the right.

Our land has never been treatied.

It's been occupied.

And it's still occupied.

[ RCMP officer ] im not questioning your guys' right to be here...

[ Klabona Keeper ] Well if you're talking about rights, we're talking about all rights.

We can't be specific and only talk about rights that suit your rights.

[ RCMP officer ] They're not my rights.

[ Klabona Keeper ] They are your rights, you're Canadian.

They're not my rights.

i'm a colonial subject of your government.

[ RCMP officer ] OK.

[ Klabona Keeper ] We have no rights according to your colonial laws,

but our rights...

the problem is the government got too lazy to treaty this land and to do treaties on this land...

so therefore, it gives us the rights.

We've been here 10,000 years.

[ another of the Klabona Keepers ] If i was to go and disrupt a resident hunter while he's hunting,

i could get charged.

These guys are disrupting our hunting,

nothing happens.

You know, when they're out here
disturbing our lifestyle

that we've maintained for 10,000 years
on occupied territory,

why aren't you standing here telling them they're wrong?

They're wrong, we're not wrong.

The bottom line is they're wrong,

and i could argue with all of you.

[ RCMP officer ] i know, but we wouldn't, we wouldn't solve anything by you and i arguing...

[ Klabona Keeper ] You are not solving anything by coming in confronting us for exercising our rights,

and leaving them alone.

[ RCMP officer ] i don't think that we are...

[ Klabona Keeper ] ...so it doesn't take an idiot... you can tell a child...

y'know, we're gonna allow those guys to disrupt you guys over there,

and we're not gonna confront them.

But if you go over there, we're gonna confront you.

What do you think that child will think?

You think i'm a child?

i mean, it's common sense
that you're not here for us.

Y'know, don't kid me, i'm not stupid.

Tell me somethin that's real
and we'd have a good conversation.

But if you want to tell me something like that,

i can't rationalize in my head,
and still have to accept?

Why? Because it's a lie.

[ RCMP officer ] i didn't come here, i didn't come here to have an argument...

[ Klabona Keeper ] then don't come here to tell me bullshit.

[ RCMP officer ] i'm not telling you bullshit...

[ Klabona Keeper ] You are.

i mean, why aren't you harassing them

when they're here drilling and disturbing us?

But if we come out to resist --
we're resisting, we're not protesting,

we're resisting the colonial situation.

And then we get confronted.

While the colonizers from Ontario can sit on that drill and destroy our land,

and they get no confrontation.

So when you come out and tell me that

"oh this is just hunky dory, everything's fine",

and i'm supposed to walk away and believe it?

Then you insult me.

[ RCMP officer ] Well, we'll have a record... of what was said, i'm sure.

[ Klabona Keeper ] ... is it going to get anywhere, the record of what's been said?

[ RCMP officer ] i don't know.

[ Klabona Keeper ] Don't insult my intelligence.

[ RCMP officer ] You're... i'm not sayin' what you're hearin'.

[ Klabona Keeper ] i'm hearing what i'm hearing,

while i'm laying on my land confronted by the RCMP because i'm laying on my land,

with a drill rig right behind you.

You know?

And you feed me this? Give me a break.

[ RCMP officer ] i'm not feedin' you anything, i'm just askin' you what's goin' on.

[ Klabona Keeper ] i told you what's goin' on.

We just don't need all the flare... that's supposed to distract...

[ RCMP officer ] OK...

well maybe we'll join your picnic (did he really just say "picnic"??? )

[ Klabona Keeper ] Join in.