DECEMBER 2014
OCTOBER 2014
There’s nothing like being in the Great Bear Rainforest to be reminded of what is at stake. As Heiltsuk hereditary chief Harvey Humchitt told me, as we talked tankers in Bella Bella this past summer, the risk of an oil spill isn’t for coastal communities alone. “It’s not only for First Nations people but it’s for everyone who uses sea resources—fishermen, sports fishermen, tourists, people that travel throughout our coast.”
If the federal government had its way, supertankers would soon be plying north coast waters. But in the groundswell of opposition throughout British Columbia over the past few years there is a deep determination to chart a different path.
The federal government has approved Enbridge Northern Gateway. But First Nations have banned it. And now many First Nations have gone to court to challenge the federal approval. This pipeline is far from a done deal.
Does that mean the rest of us can sit back and assume all is taken care of? No, far from it. We have reached a critical moment in the fight against this pipeline and the tankers that threaten B.C.’s coast and communities, and we still need all hands on deck.
First Nation legal challenges have the power to delay Northern Gateway past the point of no return. However, taking on these court challenges is an expensive burden for these small communities.
Five of the nations going to court are the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, and Gitxaala nations (on B.C.’s central and north coast, along the proposed oil tanker route), and the Nadleh Whut’en and Nak’azdli nations (in the northern interior, along the proposed pipeline route). These are remote, rural communities, taking a stand against a large corporation and a federal government trying to push a pipeline and tankers on an unwilling province. They have courage and wisdom rooted in thousands of years of governance, and the strength of aboriginal title on their side.
They are determined and willing to go it alone and do what it takes to protect their lands and communities. But they are up against big forces—and it doesn’t seem right that they should be standing alone.
“The oil companies have endlessly deep pockets, and First Nations don’t, so we decided that fundraising is the best way for us to support these legal challenges,” says Anne Hill of North West Watch, a community group in Terrace. With a spaghetti dinner and awards evening, North West Watch raised $2,000, and then issued a challenge to others around the province to step up as well.
Inspired by the commitment of northern communities, Sierra Club B.C. is partnering with Raven Trust and the five nations to launch an innovative, community-based fundraising campaign called Pull Together.
Pull Together encourages people to fundraise online and/or organize solidarity events in their communities to support the First Nation legal challenges. It’s a tangible way individuals, communities, and businesses can provide financial support to First Nations and moral support to everyone on the front lines against Enbridge.
Already a range of groups and individuals have begun to organize in creative ways.
An evening of live music with over 10 local musicians, organized by Fresh Water Jukebox, raised $800 in Penticton. The Friends of Morice-Bulkley raised $925 at a film screening in Smithers.
Renate Herberger, a self-described mermaid, swam the 22 kilometres of the chilly Saanich Inlet, in a grueling 10 hours on August 5, to raise awareness about the threats to our oceans. “When we act on what we believe in, each contributing in some small way, we can achieve amazing goals. I believe in personal responsibility to each other and to the earth,” she says.
One couple set up a Pull Together fundraising page to encourage donations instead of wedding gifts and quickly surpassed their goal of $1,000.
The First Unitarian Church in Victoria is donating half of their Sunday service collections in October. Yoga studios are raising thousands. More and more events are popping up all the time and already over $51,000 has been raised. Recently a generous donor has offered to match every dollar raised, bringing the actual total to $102,000 so far!
Chief Marilyn Slett of the Heiltsuk Nation told me the generous outpouring of support means a lot, and helps them have the strength to bring these legal challenges forward. “It’s a good feeling knowing that we’re standing together united in solidarity with British Columbians at large.”
Not only are people raising money, they are having fun, building connections within their communities, and journeying along a path of reconciliation with First Nations.
So go ahead. Do something small or do something big. Anything you contribute will make a real difference.
By taking a stand for their people, these nations are in fact taking a stand for us all. “This Enbridge issue is not just a First Nations issue,” Doug Neasloss, Kitasoo/Xai’xais councillor, told me as we explored an estuary looking for grizzly bears. “It’s not just my community or the central coast or coastal B.C….it’s all of our issue as British Columbians and as Canadians.”
So let’s support the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo-Xai’xais, Gitxaala, Nadleh Whut’en, and Nak’azdli nations—because when we pull together, we are the wall of opposition that can stop the Enbridge dirty oil pipeline from ever getting built.
Caitlyn Vernon is the campaigns director for Sierra Club B.C. To find out more about the Pull Together campaign, visit www.pull-together.ca.
Source URL: http://www.straight.com/news/753591/caitlyn-vernon-lets-pull-together-and-stop-enbridge-dirty-oil-pipeline
by Caitlyn Vernon on Oct 21, 2014 at 2:14 pm
Wednesday, Sept. 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day and North Saanich’s Renate Herberger is ready to share her story
Almost two years after losing her son, Renate Herberger is ready to speak out about her family’s experience with suicide.
“I chose this time to talk about my experience because Sept. 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day,” explained Herberger while sitting in the quiet sanctuary that is her North Saanich home.
Herberger’s son Silvan was only 23 when he took his life, something she thinks of every day.
“He was so young and he had his whole life ahead of him. He was an incredibly passionate, loyal and beautiful luminous individual, and that’s how I will always remember him,” she said.
Silvan, who grew up in Victoria and in his late teens became involved with the Capoeira community (a Brazillian martial art that combines dance, acrobatics and music), touched many people’s lives, Herberger said.
“He had many friends and acquaintances he met through Capoeira. He was well-liked and he was an amazing athlete,” she explained.
Herberger continued that Silvan told her at one point that he was pressured to take anabolic steroids.
Another hurdle in Silvan’s life occurred two months later, according to his mom.
“He told me he had a lump in his chest which doctors suspected could have been malignant. Two weeks later he would have the surgery to remove the mass and he began his recovery,” Herberger explained.
Months later, Silvan would stop participating in an activity he had enjoyed.
“I think when he walked away from Capoeira he really had nothing and nobody. He had been a part of the community for many years. He took to it like a fish to water,” she said.
Herberger, who is a long-distance swimmer and swims in South America every year to raise awareness about marine ecosystems, had invited Silvan to go with her on her trip that year.
“I offered for him to come along knowing that he had quit Capoeira. The fact that he didn’t come with me on my trip will break my heart for the rest of my life,” she said.“In hindsight, I see that these were signs of depression. He loved travelling, he loved Costa Rica, it just didn’t make sense.”
It would be during that trip that Herberger would get a call informing her that her son had taken his own life.
“I’ll never forget that night,” she said. “Getting that call, that is every mother’s worst nightmare.”
Moving forward through tragedy
Herberger said the stigma of suicide can affect a family — especially mothers — in a way that nothing else does.
“For me, I was shunned, and from talking with other mothers in support groups like Compassionate Friends, this is quite a common occurrence. People don’t know what to say or how to react when someone loses a child to suicide so their reaction is nothing. That can be devastating.
“A bereaved mother or father should never be abandoned, but it happens all the time. Which puts bereaved parents at the top of the list for suicide attempts of their own. Isolation is killer.
“When I buried Silvan I buried our Capoeria family, which was a group of people we had both grown close to.”
Herberger said the only solution to the problem is more education around suicide prevention and the effects of suicide on families.
“Suicide is still such a taboo topic,” Herberger said.
“It is something that, instead of being ignored, should be talked about. I think it should be a part of the curriculum in schools. Teaching children from an early age about suicide, in an appropriate way, is important. They need to know growing up what the warning signs are, what do to if they or a friend are experiencing those types of thoughts, and where to go if they need help. Parents need to be educated as well to be able to recognize the warning signs.
“In Silvan’s case, there were many factors. Because I didn’t have the information, I didn’t read and I wasn’t as sensitive to all the potential warning signs.
“If I had been more aware of the signs I could potentially have been able to help. Instead, that’s a question mark I have to live with for the rest of my life.”
Herberger said that education around how to deal with those who have been affected by suicide is also needed.
“As a group, we are often ignored, stigmatized and shunned. Especially as mothers.”
“People don’t know what to do or say when a parent loses a child to suicide, so they say and do nothing. All that’s needed is a hug or a invite to go for a walk to get those channels of communication open. Bereavement isn’t a contagious disease, people shouldn’t be so afraid of it.”
Herberger attends monthly meetings with support groups for parents who lost a child to suicide, but says there aren’t many options for people looking for support.
“The only support group up until about a year ago was in Nanaimo,” she said.
Because of that, she welcomes anyone who is dealing with the same things to reach out.
“It helps to be around other people who understand what you’re going through,” she said, adding that anyone who is interested in contacting her for information can reach her at renatemermaid@gmail.com. For now, Herberger said, she copes with her loss by remembering Silvan at his best.
“I try to remember him dancing and singing, all the happy times we spent together. When I swim, I swim for him. He will always be in my heart.”
Herberger, who has swam 8,242 kilometres already, sets out on her next swim in October. Her progress can be followed at costaricamermaid.net.
FEBRUARY 2014