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CHASE — First Nations protesters in British Columbia are planning to place tiny homes directly in the path of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, an idea drawn from an influential Indigenous movement in the United States.

Activists say the houses are symbols of sustainability in the face of what they see as an environmentally damaging project. They are based on structures built at a sprawling protest camp in North Dakota initiated by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

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The protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline drew international attention and was credited with achieving a temporary halt to construction. Kanahus Manuel of the Secwepemc Nation in B.C. said she hopes the structures also have a powerful effect in Canada.

“Our goal is to stop this pipeline. Our goal is to stop investors from investing in this pipeline,” she said.

“If I don’t stand up for my rights and our title as a Secwepemc woman and as a mother, I’m leaving this fight even greater for my children. I love my children so much that I’ll do whatever I can to protect their water and their salmon for all of their future.”