The Sacred Fire Still Burns

Today marks the first anniversary of arrests at an encampment on traditional Indigenous land by the RCMP, the national police force in Canada.. This was a long simmering standoff by members of the Wet’suwet’en, a coalition of five First Nations in British Columbia and construction workers for a liquified natural gas pipeline which would cross through this territory. The elected officials for the First Nations had given approval but there is a vocal and active group which opposes the construction for environmental and spiritual reasons. There is uncertainty because five hereditary chiefs, recognized through matrilineal lines, are amongst those protesting the construction. 

In the lead-up to the arrests I listened to leaders of the resistance effort who spoke about the sacred nature of the land and their desire to put the spiritual above the financial. This is a concept which is controversial, even within the community.



Since the arrests last year there was a report in The Guardian claiming that the RCMP had a plan to use lethal force at the encampment, if deemed necessary. This is something hard to imagine at any protest in a city, or where the protesters were predominantly Caucasian. The RCMP has denied these allegations. 

I have included this post on my Groundling, Earth-care blog because the climate crisis and environmental issues are profoundly spiritual, a reality we have too often ignored We must rediscover the sacredness of Creation after centuries of regarding the land as something to be exploited and plundered for economic gain. 



I certainly can't claim to comprehend the complexities of the issues in this instance. I do feel that we have ignored Indigenous peoples, their rights and concerns, for too long and at our peril. In our Judeo/Christian traditions there are sacred fires which signal the presence of the Creator. We can be solidarity with the voices of Indigenous peoples who uphold their sacred fire. And as always, we can pray for justice and respect for those pushed to the margins.