About 200 people gathered in downtown Edmonton Monday evening to show solidarity with Wet’suwet’un land defenders near Houston, B.C.
The demonstration was organized by Climate Justice Edmonton. Food Not Bombs YEG provided warm drinks and food for those in attendance.
With signs reading “Land Back”, “All Out For Wedzinkwa” and “Sacred Earth”, the protestors marched from Beaver Hills House Park down Jasper Avenue towards the High Level Bridge. They then blocked off the bridge for around a half hour, lighting a ceremonial fire in the middle.
Some drivers blared their horns at the people walking, while some seemed to honk in support.
The protest was organized to show support for an Indigenous nation in B.C. that has experienced an ongoing conflict with the RCMP and the Coastal Gas Link (CGL) pipeline employees.
On November 18, the RCMP arrested 14 people, including elders and journalists. The RCMP made the arrests in relation to a blockade across a service road made up of destroyed cars. CGL said they had around 500 employees stranded due to the blockades.
The Gidimt’en clan erected the blockade after giving workers an eight-hour warning.
