Free Stacey Blockade (2021)
In March 2021, Stacey Gallagher an Indigenous land-defender, along with other Indigenous elders were sentenced to 90 days in prison. This was after a series of peaceful protest sit-ins to oppose PM Trudeau’s purchasing and development of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Despite repeated promises of upholding the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, which requires “free, prior, and informed consent” of Indigenous communities ahead of development on their territories – Trudeau continued to move forward with this environment-disrupting expansion. Stacey, along with other-land defenders, were aggressively arrested at their peaceful protests and denied basic civil rights during incarceration. Because of this The Braided Warriors, a youth-led Indigenous group committed to non-violent action against the Trans Mountain Pipeline, led another sit in at the intersections of Clark and Hastings in Vancouver, BC. Supported in solidarity by many non-Indigenous community members (including myself), Vancouver Police organized a march towards the blockade – separating POC for arrest, targeting photojournalists, and forcing the Braided Warriors to concede with threat of arrest. This level of aggression towards a non-violent sit-in left the original causes not in question. Although Squamish Nation, Tseil-Waututh Nation, and Cold Water Indian Band have opposed the Trans Mountain Pipeline in court, it continues to be developed today.
Cancel Canada Day (2020)
This was the first instalment of Cancel Canada Day during the COVID pandemic of 2020. Although many Indigenous prior to this day never celebrated Canada Day, as it was a day in celebration of separation from the British Crown and a proclamation of Canada as its own independent nation – this was the first protest held at the Art Gallery in Vancouver, BC. The event began with speeches and storytelling on the steps of the Art Gallery with many members of all ethnicities pouring in fully-masked to provide support and solidarity for these issues – it concluded with a march through the streets and towards Gastown. The end point: the Gassy Jack Statue – a “staple” of Gastown Vancouver. This statue was a depiction of John Deighton, commissioned in 1970, a colonist celebrated in the heart of downtown Vancouver. What many Vancouverites had not educated themselves in, was that “Gassy Jack” represents further degradation of the Indigenous communities more than his colonist roots. In 1870 Deighton took a 12 year old Squamish girl named Quahail-ya as his wife. This act not only was shaming moral standards back in the day and assuming authorial domination of a young un-consenting Indigenous girl – but in today’s standards to still see it standing was an on-going representation of Vancouver’s lack of respect for the Indigenous community. During this march on July 1, 2020, police surrounded and protected the statue – instigating further outrage from the Indigenous and non-Indigenous members of protest. While Idle No More protest leaders beautifully and miraculously led the offended crowd from anger to songs of peace and solidarity, then to an amicable end of the protest, the statue remained standing. From this time onward a petition that gathered 1,500 signatures in the first five days and then over 23,000 signatures by its end – remained inconsequential and the statue went on to stand. On February 14, 2022, during the Annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women march in Vancouver – the “Gassy Jack” statue was toppled.
Black Lives Matter (2020)
Following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, protests erupted across the US and Canada.
