Gitxsan hereditary chiefs recently marched from the Vancouver Art Gallery to the provincial courthouse in Vancouver, advocating for the disbandment of the RCMP鈥檚 task force focused on resource projects such as the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
Hereditary chief Gwiiyeehl (Brian Williams) is asking the federal government to agree to a meeting so both parties can discuss the C-IRG unit (Community-Industry Response Group) and related matters 鈥減eacefully.鈥�
Williams is asking the RCMP and industry to respect their lhiem 鈥� a term that translates to 鈥渢erritory鈥� in English. Gitxsan land is unceded as it was never surrendered or sold to the government in a treaty or by another legal mechanism.
Currently, Gitxsan land is a passing point for industry workers, specifically those in the forestry sector and resource extraction.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want them on our lhiem, we don鈥檛 want them on our 35,000 square kilometres. Stay out,鈥� said Williams.
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During the Art Gallery demonstration Wednesday (Oct. 11), Gitxsan chiefs were dressed in full regalia, and carried banners stating 鈥淪top Supreme Court Interference鈥� and 鈥淪top war on Indigenous land defenders,鈥� referencing the court鈥檚 injunctions against opponents of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. This included an injunction against Gitxsan members who blockaded the railroad tracks in New Hazelton in February 2020 in solidarity with the Witsuwit鈥檈n Nation.
Williams said the Vancouver demonstration was peaceful and well-received by the public.
鈥淲e blocked the street for about 10 minutes. It was safe. No one really honked at us or disagreed with us,鈥� he said.
The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP announced earlier this year it was launching an investigation into the C-IRG.
鈥淭he systemic investigation will identify the extent to which C鈥揑RG鈥檚 operations and actions meet, reflect, consider or are consistent with the standards and expectations set by Bill C-15, An Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the British Columbia Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and the calls for justice from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry (MMIWG),鈥� the federal government said in a statement at the time.
Some members of the Witsuwit始en Nation have filed a civil suit against C-IRG, alleging police misconduct during the Coastal Gas Link protests.
The group is also being sued by The Narwhal and photojournalist Amber Bracken for her arrest at an anti-pipeline encampment near Houston where she was on assignment for the online news magazine.
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The Coastal GasLink project, which is nearing completion, saw the deployment of the C-IRG task force on multiple occasions. Over the past three years, police have arrested numerous protesters.
In an email, Staff-Sgt. Kris Clark, a senior spokesperson for the RCMP, said deploying the C-IRG is a 鈥渓ast resort鈥� and deploying the group during the Coastal GasLink protests was a necessity.
According to the RCMP, an 鈥渁narchist鈥� group deemed to be unassociated with the Witsuwit始en Nation, committed acts of terrorism, threatening workers and destroying industrial equipment with an axe.
鈥淲hen protests are peaceful, lawful and safe, there is no need for C-IRG intervention,鈥� said Clark.
But Williams said the C-IRG has been deployed on Gitxsan land during peaceful protests such as the 2020 blockade, and that the historical context of the RCMP鈥檚 treatment of Gitxsan members, including three deaths at the hands of RCMP officers in the last 50 years, prompts 鈥渇ear鈥� among his people.
鈥淭hey (C-IRG) came out in full fatigue. They came out with a couple of busloads of militant RCMP. And it looks like they鈥檙e ready to shoot. It鈥檚 scary,鈥� said Williams.
鈥淭hey have drones, helicopters, high-tech equipment we don鈥檛 have. They come in full attire, bulletproof vests, dogs, helicopters. And with rifles ready to kill somebody.鈥�
Clark said the response to C-IRG is mostly 鈥渟ensationalized,鈥� and that the C-IRG group itself has not caused any 鈥減hysical injuries as a result of any enforcement actions to date.鈥�
It has, however, also received public criticism for video footage of officers shouting racial slurs at protesters, as well as using what some believe to be excessive force on people protesting old-growth logging at Fairy Creek.
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