The Department fully supports the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and all defenders of land, water, and Indigenous life

March 5, 2020

We, the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University, acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional, unceded and unsurrendered land of the Algonquin nation and the Algonquin Anishinaabe people. These are not empty words, and we affirm our responsibilities that come with the recognition of unceded and treaty lands throughout North America.

As such, we respect the clear jurisdiction of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs as the legitimate title holders to their own unceded lands, and their consequent right to refuse any project in their territory.

We support all defenders of land, water, and Indigenous life against state violence, and we condemn all violence against land and water defenders.

We insist that settler police forces, including the RCMP and OPP, respect the jurisdiction of Indigenous nations and leave Indigenous territory when requested.

We call for the immediate release without charge or condition of all who have been arrested for defending their territory or for conducting solidarity actions, including rail blockades.

We call for an end to the racist backlash and vigilante actions against Indigenous people, and for an end to the support of such thuggery by politicians and pundits. We encourage settlers angered by the inconvenience to instead reflect on that anger, and to put the present blockades—an effective instrument of power, when all else fails—in the context of centuries of settler aggressions ranging from economic disruption to genocide. Indeed, we consider the solidarity blockades of rail lines and other infrastructure to be an important moment for Canadians to pause, reflect, and learn about UNDRIP, Delgamuukw, and the fundamental legal authority of Indigenous title.

Finally, we affirm our support of our students and colleagues engaged in Wet’suwet’en solidarity work in Ottawa and elsewhere.

On behalf of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology,

Blair Rutherford, Professor and Chair

Please click here for the official letter.