United Gitxsan Chiefs denounce pipeline offers from BC to GTS
The BC government has made a financial offer offer to the illegitimate Gitxsan Treaty Society (GTS), who falsely claim to represent the entire Gitxsan Nation, asking them to permit LNG fracked gas pipelines on the entire Gitxsan landbase. The offer asks them to "bind the entire Gitxsan Nation against taking any action that would compromise the LNG Project", and to "direct any Simgoyget or wilp who does not agree with the development or agreement to cease any activity that may compromise the development."
This is outrageous. Ours and other Gitxsan house groups do not recognize or endorse the GTS as representative of the Gitxsan. The rightful decision-makers in the Gitxsan nation are the house (wilp) chiefs, not an externally imposed treaty body with no territory or substantive mandate. The BC government themselves recognized this fact during the Delgamuukw trial, which was litigated at the level of house chiefs. Despite this fact, and despite a long paper-trail from numerous house group chiefs detailing how they have no voice in the GTS, are steam-rolled by it, and denounce it, the government continues to correspond with, and make deals like this one, with only the GTS (and their subsidiary corporations like the Gitxsan Development Corporation (GDC)). This mis-representation has got to stop, and we are on the ground to make it stop. This deal comes at exactly the same time that the two pipelines for Gitxsan territory have received environmental approval. No coincidence there. See you on the ground. Stay tuned for more info.
Below is the letter from the United Gitxsan Cheifs in response to these offers from BC to the GTS.
