I attended the protest at the legislature in Victoria on Oct. 22, 2012. I was disappointed that Melina Laboucan-Massimo from the Lubicon Cree First Nation was missed by the reporters.
She reduced many in the crowd to tears when she spoke of the changes her people live with in Alberta. She spoke of the largest oil spill in Alberta not reported in Canada until after the Federal election.
She spoke of how elders and children were sick and begging to find out if there was an oil spill.
Five days later (after the election) the news finally broke about the largest Enbridge oil spill in Alberta.
She spoke of how the Lubicon Cree First Nation people can no longer hunt, fish, or harvest berries and medicine from their territorial lands.
She spoke of how their culture is being lost and they have nothing to pass on to future generations.
She spoke of decimation to the land, water and air. She spoke of how her people fear the land. She spoke of the threat to all indigenous people’s connection to the land being lost every day the tar sands operate and expand.
She spoke of how she never wants any community to experience this decimation. She spoke of how it is too late for their nation, their way of life has been annihilated by the tar sands.
This did not make any of the news coverage.
Her story needs to be echoed loudly — this is what will move people to understand how one oil spill will change beautiful B.C. forever.
Her story should be told to reach the hearts of all.
Her story should be a warning, how far we have come as a human race machine before body.
Oil before water. Money before food.
Jo-Anne Berezanski
North Saanich