First Nations appeal to China Sam Geall | Feb 09

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The extremely rare spirit bear, whose habitat is said to be under threat from the Northern Gateway Pipeline

Earlier this week, Angela Merriam reported for chinadialogue on Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper's visit to China, where the topic of energy cooperation is high on the agenda. Merriam explained that even if China is a willing buyer of crude oil from Canada's tar sands -- one of the dirtiest methods of extracting oil, which will then be pumped through the controversial proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline -- domestic politics could mean a slow response from Canada, due to opposition from environmentalists and native peoples. 

Now, a coalition of Aboriginal people, known as the Yinka Dene Alliance of First Nations, in British Columbia, has penned an open letter directly "to the Chinese people" explaining their concerns. The First Nations have depended on the rich coastal ecosystem of western Canada for thousands of years. They fear that the Northern Gateway Pipeline brings the threat of oil spills, which could destroy local fisheries, and that it will endanger the habitat of the "spirit bear", an important animal in native mythology, so rare that there may be as few as 400 left on Earth.

Here is the letter in full: 

"We will protect our rivers and coast from Enbridge oil – we say no to the Enbridge pipeline

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is visiting China this week to talk about his plans to force the Enbridge Northern Gateway Oil Pipeline and Tankers through our lands, territories, and watersheds. Harper plans to violate our indigenous human rights to build this 1200 kilometre oil pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to the Pacific Ocean. We will not allow Harper to force this oil pipeline through our lands. Under United Nations international law, we have the right to say no to this pipeline. We will enforce our legal rights to protect our waters from this the risk of an oil spill.

We are the sovereign Indigenous nations of the Fraser River Watershed in British Columbia, Canada. We are many nations, bound together by these waters. Enbridge wants to build pipelines to pump massive amounts of tar sands crude oil through the Fraser’s headwaters, and then use giant oil tankers to carry the oil through very dangerous waters. An oil spill in our lands and rivers would destroy our fish, poison our water, and devastate our peoples, our livelihoods, and our futures. An oil spill on the coast would destroy sources of seafood and fish, like crabs, for thousands of people. It could destroy the extremely rare spirit bear – a bear with white fur that is as beautiful as the Chinese panda bear. Enbridge company has many pipeline oil spills every year, including the large 2010 spill into the Kalamazoo river in the United States. We refuse to be next.

We will protect the fish, the seafood, the water and the people of British Columbia, Canada, from the danger of Enbridge oil spills. We have written to the Chinese government to offer our great respect to the Chinese people all around the world – but we will not allow Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to violate our rights as nations in order to build the Enbridge pipeline.

We are the Yinka Dene Alliance."