Educators must speak out about injustice against Wet’suwet’en

Let’s demand that governments respect sovereignty, Saskatchewan teachers say.

This open letter is written by Saskatchewan schoolteachers concerned about the current events on Wet’suwet’en territory. It contains our own views and ideas and in no way represents any school boards or education institutions. 45,000 teachers in B.C. have already declared their support for the Wet’suwet’en Nation. We call on teachers in Saskatchewan to join our B.C. colleagues by sharing this letter, attending solidarity actions in Saskatchewan, and demanding Canadian governments respect Wet’suwet’en sovereignty.

In Saskatchewan, we teach about treaty history and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Sometimes our students ask, “We get it, what happened in the past was terrible — why do we need to learn about it over and over again?”

Our response is this: Wet’suwet’en rights are being ignored. This is exactly why we have to learn about treaty relations and truth and reconciliation. Colonialism is not a thing of the past. It is happening right now on Wet’suwet’en land. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Aboriginal sovereignty on Wet’suwet’en land has never been ceded. This means the Wet’suwet’en have the right to decide whether or not a pipeline will be built on that territory. And the Wet’suwet’en have not consented. Forcibly removing peaceful land defenders from their traditional unceded lands is in violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (B.C. recently passed a bill stating that they would honour this declaration).

The band councils, who have agreed to the pipeline, were established under the Indian Act; they only have authority over reserve lands. The hereditary chiefs, on the other hand, are the keepers of traditional law over the entire territory. They have not agreed to the pipeline, and their right to withhold consent is binding on Canada.

To teach our students the importance of good relations between Indigenous and non-indigenous people, we believe teachers need to speak out about the Wet’suwet’en injustice.

Some people feel uncomfortable with the idea of teachers taking sides on political issues; that there’s no place for activism in education. We say that is a misunderstanding of the curriculum, the teaching profession and the potential of public education. The job of teachers is not just the academic growth of students, technical delivery of curriculum, job training or university prep. The job of teachers is also to work for justice.

Our curriculum encourages us to teach about social justice and social responsibility. It says that we should teach students to “contribute to their physical, social and cultural environments,” and “participate with others in accomplishing common goals,” and “have the ability to initiate or participate in social action.” So, inside the classroom, there is a strong argument that it’s good for teachers to encourage activism. Beyond that, teachers need to show our students what it looks like when informed adults act on their knowledge. We need to model how to participate in social action for decolonization. We need to stand with the Wet’suwet’en until our society gets to a place where they have an equal, nation-to-nation voice on what happens on their land.

Just to be clear, we are not asking for teachers to protest pipeline development, but that we call on our governments to respect Indigenous land title.

Therefore, as teachers we call on the RCMP to withdraw from Wet’suwet’en territory without preconditions and on the governments of Canada and B.C. to respect Wet’suwet’en consent. Furthermore, we call on our fellow teachers to watch out for announcements of public solidarity actions in your community. These meetings/actions can help us educate ourselves on this topic. If 20 of us show up, we’ll have a strong show of solidarity. If 100 of us show up, we’ll begin to show our students that we’re serious about honouring treaties and practicing truth and reconciliation, not just talking about it.

Nicole Anderson, Orane Beteau, Joshua Campbell, Melissa Compain, Sara Maria Daubisse, Nick Day, Allan Dotson, Rod Figueroa, Dennie Fornwald, Sharlene Holliday, Leia Laing, Mike Markesteyn, Karen Mciver, Tana Mitchell, Jonathon Neher, Vanessa Nordmark-beahm, Wybo Ottenbreit-born, David Vanderberg, Aysha Yaqoob are teachers in Regina; Jermain Mckenzie teaches in La Loche.