Tsuk land defender wis-waa-cha says RCMP C-IRG sent to remove her from tree-sit on unceded land

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Photo: wis-waa-cha/ Kati George-Jim.

Meral Jamal of IndigiNews reports: “A T’Sou-ke woman who took part in a tree-sit for nearly a month in protest of construction work at her First Nation says she avoided police who tried to confront her this week.”

Times Colonist: “On Tuesday about 9 a.m., RCMP began surrounding the tree with about a dozen officers, George-Jim said in a text.” Photo by SheBites Media.

wis-waa-cha (Kati George-Jim) posted on Instagram: “On Sept 26, 2023, the RCMP ERT and CIRG militarized units came to violently remove me from the tree. Thankfully, I evaded their arrest and brutality.”

The IndigiNews news article continues:

The RCMP confirmed officers had attended the construction worksite Tuesday morning.

wis-waa-cha and her mother kWa’st’not (Charlene George) are against construction on the T’Sou-ke reserve, which involves the development of a gravity sanitary sewer collection system and wastewater pump station that would bring raw sewage from 53 homes on the reserve to the District of Sooke’s wastewater treatment plant.

wis-waa-cha said she is against the construction because, along with being a sacred location, it is taking place on unceded and unsurrendered land. She said this makes it beyond the control of T’Sou-ke’s chief and council, which has been given power through the federal Indian Act.

Instagram post by wis-waa-cha

Both women were served with an application for an injunction by the T’Sou-ke First Nation on Aug. 24, receiving a permanent injunction in a decision by the court on Aug. 30. wis-waa-cha said the band also served an application via email notice for the RCMP to enforce an exclusion zone on Sept. 7. The exclusion zone was granted by a British Columbia Supreme Court judge on Sept. 12, meaning the RCMP could forcibly remove her from the tree at any time moving forward.

The full article can be read at T’Sou-ke woman, who sat in a tree for nearly a month, says protest was about more than a single development (September 29).

Further updates from wis-waa-cha can be found on Instagram and Facebook.

Video.


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