Aamjiwnaang Chippewas of Sarnia (BlackburnNews.com File Photo by Briana Carnegie)Aamjiwnaang Chippewas of Sarnia (BlackburnNews.com File Photo by Briana Carnegie)
Sarnia

Wet'suwet'en solidarity march at Aamjiwnaang Friday

Nationwide pipeline protests are making their way to Sarnia on Friday afternoon.

At least 100 people will be taking part in a non-violent march in support of Wet'suwet'en First Nation in British Columbia.

They're rallying against Coastal GasLink's plans to build a pipeline on their land.

Aamjiwnaang's Vanessa Gray said it's important to stand with Wet'suwet'en's hereditary chiefs.

"I have been out to the Wet'suwet'en territory," said Gray. "It has clean water, it has a whole ecosystem that is thriving with moose within the mountains. It's every bit as important to protect it from projects like pipelines because, as we see in Chemical Valley today, pipelines only age and get more unsafe."

Gray said the RCMP is acting like Coastal GasLink's private security firm.

"The way that this has been done, this raid, this military response to peaceful indigenous people who are just on their own territory in ceremony and taken off their territory is really hard to see."

Gray said the protest also opposes the RCMP's armed raids of Indigenous lands, and the tearing down of red dresses honouring missing and murdered indigenous women.

The event will start at the band office on Tashmoo Ave. at around 3 p.m. with a fire lighting ceremony and speeches.

Protesters will march down Tashmoo, to Churchill Road, and then Vidal Street South.

The protest is expected to wrap up at around 6 p.m.

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