ROTHENBURGER: Protests and arrests were played out in a familiar script

Fourth, the arrested protesters are released a few hours later with a date for appearance in court, and the videos and photos are posted on Facebook as evidence of injustice, along with pleas for support.

That’s pretty much the way it went in these most recent examples. Three people were arrested when they refused to leave a TMX site on Mission Flats Road where directional drilling is threading the pipeline under the Thompson River.

At the same time, a woman was arrested when she attached herself to a bulldozer at a nearby site, and a fifth was briefly taken into custody for destroying survey stakes. One of those arrested was Loralie Dick, who was also arrested in September for chaining herself to a Trans Mountain gate on Airport Way. That incident was captured on video by her sister Miranda. Others arrested a few days ago were identified by the protesters as Hereditary Chief Segwses, April Thomas, Billie Pierre and ex-TMX engineer Romily Cavanaugh.

Two days after, four more people were arrested at the worksite. Miranda Dick kneeled on the ground and ceremonially had a large piece of her hair cut as her sister sang. (Miranda Dick made some headlines in 2009 for protesting an Olympic Torch rally because, she said, it took place on indigenous lands.)

I make no judgment on the motives of those who take part in these protests. I accept that they are sincere in what they do and in their concerns about the pipeline but I do have some observations.

Each time, RCMP are cast as the bad guys. Their role is to enforce the law, which, in these cases, is a B.C. Supreme Court injunction issued in June 2018. When they’re informed that someone is illegally occupying a TMX worksite or interfering with work on the pipeline, they are responsible for resolving the situation.

From the videos I’ve watched of the September incident and the more recent ones, they approach the situation politely. Sometimes the politeness is returned; other times it’s met with insults. There was no obvious violence involved in the recent arrests, but media releases issued on behalf of the protesters suggested it might have been otherwise.

For example, one sent out by environmentalist John McNamer on behalf of spokesperson Anushka Azadi said that as Miranda Dick’s hair was cut, “Tears streamed from the faces of onlookers as a dozen police surrounded her ready to apprehend her with violent force.”

Though non-indigenous, Azadi has become a spokesperson for the Secwepemc Sacred Fire and the Secwepemc Women’s Sacred Fire Council and described herself in a 2016 interview as “a frontline defender and legal advocate, broadcast journalist, writer, performer, community organizer and all around bad bitch.”

Another release, signed by Miranda Dick, stated “no consent has ever been given for the colonial government or the Trans Mountain Pipeline to enact the violent authority and jurisdiction they claim on Secwepemculecw.” Friday, she posted an update saying she was “violently arrested.”

While it’s to be hoped no one gets hurt in these things, there’s no question that photos and videos of arrests make for effective messaging on Facebook, eliciting sympathy for the cause of stopping the pipeline. Police are the vehicle that makes this possible.

And, of course, traditional media become involved — protests make for good headlines and visuals. The local protests were covered across the country. One piece in eastern Canada even made an absurd comparison between the TMX protests and the Nova Scotia lobster fishery violence.

One thing that confuses non-indigenous folks is the question of who’s in charge of First Nations. The protesters say they are, that they are the true Secwepemc people, that elected chiefs and councils have sold out. But after the most recent protests, Chief Rosanne Casimir released a statement on behalf of the Tk’emlups Chief and Council. Among other things, she pointed out the chief and council are elected by Band membership “under our custom election code” and that “no one else has the right to speak on our behalf.”

She thanked RCMP “for maintaining peace and order” and said TteS “has not sold or ceded or given anything away. We have upheld our jurisdictional rights.”

This isn’t the first time Casimir has felt the necessity of issuing a statement in reaction to protests. She and Simpcw Chief Shelly Loring issued a joint statement in July asking the Tiny House Warriors to stand down in Blue River. They asserted that it was the Tiny House Warriors who were violating Secwepemc law. That brought a Facebook rebuttal from the Tiny House Warriors that caused Casimir to consider legal action.

Chiefs and councils who have negotiated with Trans Mountain worry that the public will think they’re the ones doing the protesting. Writers often refer to the protesters simply as “the Secwepemc.”

Fortunately, the arrests of the last couple of weeks were accomplished peacefully, as was the one in September. The protesters had their day, made their claims about genocide and got their Facebook material.

But none of it offers much hope for long-term resolution. The protesters get a certain amount of support from it but it’s limited to their base. I don’t know how we get past unproductive confrontation.

A footnote: a few days after the arrests, a mural/ graffiti appeared on the back-alley wall of a downtown coffee shop with the message “Save the Land, Kill the Pipeline.” It wasn’t signed but it included the language of protest, referring to the need to protect Mother Earth.

It was soon removed.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

by Mel Rothenburger

ROTHENBURGER: Protests and arrests were played out in a familiar script

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