It is our sacred obligation to protect our Salish Sea homelands and our community, including the salmon and qwe 'lhol mechen (orcas).
Press Release
Coast Salish Tribal Nations stand together in opposing RBT2
press conference held during Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency hearings for the proposed expansion of the Roberts Bank shipping terminal
Coast Salish Nations stand together in opposing to RBT2
11:00am-12:00 pm on Saturday, May 25, 2019
Beach Grove Golf Course , 5946 12th Ave., Delta, BC V4L 1C7
Several Coast Salish Nations, in a hearing with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) on May 25, formally opposed the proposed expansion to Roberts Bank Terminal 2. The Canadian government is obligated to secure the “free, prior, and informed consent” of Indigenous peoples before approving projects that would significantly impact Indigenous peoples and their homelands. In this case and at this time, such consent has been denied.
“We have to stop the bleeding of the Salish Sea,” said Raynell Morris of Lummi Nation. “That means no new projects, no RBT2, no Trans Mountain Pipeline, nothing, until we have assessed the physical, cultural, and spiritual health of the Salish Sea, and until we have established a baseline for Salish Sea health as measured in salmon.”
“The Salish Sea and the vital marine life that it supports are the lifeblood of our people,” Teri Gobin, Chairwoman Tulalip Tribes, said. “Impacts from the Robert Banks Terminal expansion represent a threat to the natural and cultural resources that have sustained us since time immemorial.”
“For over 150 years we have been impacted by a pollution-based economy,” shared Swinomish Chairman Brian Cladoosby. “Our intention is to restore and protect this shared place for today and generations to come.”
"Everything interrelates, said Chairman Leonard Forsman of the Suquamish Tribe and also President of ATNI. “The promotion of increased container shipping with increased fossil fuel use and combustion will contribute more to climate change, which is bringing warming waters and raising sea levels.”
“In our language, we don’t say killer whale, we say qwe ‘lhol mechen, which means our relations under the waves. We have a Xa Xalh Xechnging (sacred obligation) to protect them and their home in the same way we protect ourselves and our home. We are all family,” said Lawrence Solomon, Secretary of Lummi Nation.
The waters, salmon, orcas, and Coast Salish cultures and spirit have been part of the Salish Sea region since time immemorial and do not recognize the relatively recent Canadian/US border. Coast Salish Nations on both sides of the border are standing as one in our unconditional opposition to the proposed expansion of the Roberts Bank Terminal.
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Contact: Kurt Russo (Lummi Nation) 360-312-2292 (desk) 360-961-4554 (mobile) kurtr@lummi-nsn.gov
Live Stream of press conference at the SacredSea.org Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OurSacredSea/, and at www.SacredSea.org
Call in number for reporters who wish to listen and/or participate by teleconference: https://zoom.us/j/994914964
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Meeting ID: 994 914 964
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abguYkHFzT
The CEAA hearings are open to the public and to press. CEAA will be livestreaming the entire process at https://freeman.streamme.ca/ceaa2019.
Itinerary for May 25, 2019
- 9am: hearings for Tulalip Tribes and Swinomish Tribe
- (11am press conference in room next to hearings)
- 1pm-5pm: hearings for Suquamish Tribe and Lummi Nation
A downloadable Fact Sheet about the proposed expansion of Roberts Bank shipping terminal is available on the Media Resources page of SacredSea.org. This Media Advisory and the Press Release are also available.
https://sacredsea.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/RBT2.FactSheet.25May.pdf
Contact: Kurt Russo 360-312-2292 (desk) 360-961-4554 (mobile) kurtr@lummi-nsn.gov
