Letter of support for Wet’suwet’en from Afrodescendants and allies Blackforwetsuweten Follow Feb 28 · 4 min read

For immediate release

Februry 28th, 2020

In this closing of Black History Month, we believe it is relevant to chart an alternative discourse to the mainstream one that concerns afrodescendants. We do not agree with the treatment of Aboriginals by the Government of Canada, even in February. We believe that agreements on aboriginal rights, land claims and traditional laws must be respected on aboriginal lands.

In a context where the Canadian government and the Coastal GasLink company are seeking to override the territorial sovereignty of the Wet’suwet’en communities in order to build a pipeline, it becomes necessary to recall that the emancipatory struggles of the Afro-descendant communities were built on a principle of equality of all human lives. Since the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has approved the use of lethal force to displace Wet’suwet’en land defenders who are blocking the construction of the pipeline as revealed by The Guardian newspaper, it becomes inconsistent for members of Afro-descendant communities to associate themselves with a government and economic institutions that condone racist violence and colonial practices.

Therefore, we invite all those who stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people to refuse to meet, discuss and take pictures with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government until he commits to responding to the demands of Aboriginal communities, particularly those of the Wet’suwet’en Nation.

Furthermore, it is embarrassing to see the Trudeau government’s race for a seat on the UN Security Council and the courtship of African states given Canada’s role as a referent for the apartheid regime in South Africa.

As a matter of fact, there is ample evidence to confirm that the South African state received information and inspiration directly from the Canadian government and its system of Indian reserves to design and establish these spatial methods of racial segregation. The memory of Nelson Mandela cannot be honoured by continuing Canadian colonial practices despite the economic imponderables. It also becomes incomprehensible to recognize the International Decade of Afro-descendants as recognized by the UN while at the same time fuelling an intolerable context for the continent’s first peoples.

By refusing all meetings or participation with the Canadian government, members of Afro-descendant communities are allying themselves with First Nations communities in their struggles against Canadian colonial extractivism.

This gesture is more consistent with the ideas of emancipation formulated by Afro-descendant intellectuals such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Angela Davis or Steve Biko. Rather than just using their quotations to commemorate their struggles, it is high time to put their reflections into practice.

This commitment serves as a reminder of the Trudeau government’s responsibilities and election promises to restore nation-to-nation relationships with Indigenous peoples based on recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership, and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Afrodescendant signatories

Saron Gebresellassi, lawyer, Toronto

Alessandra Devulsky, Chargée de Cours à l’UQAM, Montreal

Alexandra Pierre, travailleuse communautaire, Montréal

Aly Ndiaye alias Webster, Artiste et conférencier, Montréal, Canada

Anique Jordan, Curator, Toronto

Anthony N. Morgan, Lawyer, Toronto, ON

Beverley Mullings, Professor, Kingston, Ontario

Colas Eko, Artistic Project Manager, Montréal, Québec

Édeline, Travailleuse sociale, Ottawa, Ontario

Elizabeth Mudenyo, Employed freelancer, Toronto ON

Emrical, artiste

Erene Anthony, I am am a retiree and community volunteer, Montreal

Eva, Telecoms, Yaoundé, Cameroun

Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin, a professor, Kingston

Jan Anderson, Graduate Student, Tkaronto

Janisa, TORONTO

Jaz Fairy J, I am an artist, feminist, Toronto

Joana Joachim, PhD Candidate in Art History, Montreal, QC

K. Forbes, Student. Ontario

Kama La Mackerel, Artiste, Montreal, Canada

Karine Jean-François, community organizer, Montréal, QC, Canada

Karla Smith, Student, Toronto, Ontario

Kony, a student, Montréal — QUEBEC

Maeanne Paris, I am an educator and activist, Montreal, Quebec

Maria Elena Stoodley, artiste multidisciplinaire, Tio’tia:ke

Marie-Yves Dupervil, Retraite, Longueuil

Marilou Craft, Autrice et dramaturge, Montréal

Marilyn Cooke, Réalisatrice et scénariste, Montreal, Canada

Mélissa Laveaux, I am an artist, Paris, France (via Ottawa, Canada)

Nat Alexander, Community Worker, Montreal, QC

Nawal Aït Ali, Doctorante et manager de projets européens sur l’égalité de genre, Paris (France)

Onika Powell, Citizen, Markham

Patricia Alexander, I am a retired Canadian. Brossard, Quebec

rosalind hampton, a professor, Tkaronto (Toronto)

Roxanne Brown, Educator in a inuit rehab, Montreal

Sasha Simmons, a community worker, Tio’tia:ke/ Montreal, QC

SEAN SEALES, Community Representative, Montreal, Quebec

Shannon Clarke, Student, Kingston, Ontario

Steven Blackette, Montreal

Sylvia Piggott, Retired, Montreal

Sylvie Men, Student, Quebec

Will Prosper, Montreal, Quebec

Xavier Boisrond, Humoriste — Créateur, Montréal

Yoka Cummings, I am a working mom, Brossard

Yvonne Greer, citizen, Montreal West, quebec

Allies (non-afrodescendants) — Personnes allié.e.s

Chiedza Pasipanodya, A curator and writer, Toronto

Khosro Berahmandi, I am an artist, Montreal

Jonathan Mcphedran Waitzer, Community Organizer, Montreal

Sonia Trépanier, Doctorante en sociologie, Montréal

Mylène Bergeron, Intervenante psychosociale, Montréal

Solo Fugère, Artiste et Étudiant, Montréal

Antoine Vogler, Étudiant (UdeM, Géographie), Montréal, Canada

Source:

- Canadian Apartheid: https://www.lapsuslima.com/canadas-apartheid/

- Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

- The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_F_web.pdf

- The Guardian article on the possibility of lethal force being used by the RCMP to displace defenders of Aboriginal territories: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/20/canada-indigenous-land-defenders-police-documents