Friday, November 26, 2021

BLACK FRIDAY Climate Justice Protest at Chase Bank

Picket
Opening: 2:30 PM
Main Event: 3:00 PM
End Time: 5:00 PM

Calling all Climate Activists, Social Justice Activists, Disrupters, and Brave Ones

Time to wear BLACK and TAKE ACTION on Black Friday at CHASE BANK (Ocean and Water Streets in Santa Cruz).

The Wet'suwet'en indigenous nation in British Columbia has called for solidarity actions across the world as they fight an illegal pipeline (Coastal GasLink) slated to cross their sovereign territories with funding, of course, primarily organized by CHASE Bank.

This coming Black Friday, we gather at Chase at Ocean and Water Streets, wearing black, with black veils to protest and grieve this infringement on indigenous sovereignty and indigenous wisdom toward saving Earth for us all.

We will also hang red dresses in the trees and on lines to call out the epidemic in Canada and the United States of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Trans, Two Spirits and others. (#MMIW, #MMIR).

Come join us at Ocean & Water Street this Friday at 3!

* Wear all black. Wear a veil if you like.

* Bring a red dress (not fancy) on a hanger and/or bring clothespins.

* Bring a sign in solidarity. See hashtags below. And this website: https://www.yintahaccess.com

#ShutDownCanada #MMIW #MMIWG #AllOutForWedzinKwa (sacred headwaters) and #WetsuwetenStrong

We need all hands on deck to support indigenous rights and indigenous-led action to stop climate chaos. We call out Chase Bank for their role in funding the last pipeline being fought by the Wet'suwet'en tribal nation in BC, Canada. We need many hands and bodies to hold signs, hold up banners and pass out flyers.

Please also bring your friends, share the Facebook event - https://www.facebook.com/events/5257618914254330- forward this email and SPREAD THE WORD.

BACKGROUND

The Wet'suwet'en Tribal Nation, led by elders, women and youth, have called for allies to join them at camp in BC to stop the a TransCanada pipeline (called "Coastal GasLink") and for global acts of solidarity targeting funders and insurers of this pipeline.

Of course, JP Morgan Chase is the lead funding organizer for this project, according to the Rainforest Action Network. According to the law, the Canadian government needs to obtain the free consent of the Wet'suwet'en in order to undertake any projects on their land. They have not done this in the case of this pipeline, which threatens a sacred headwaters of the Wet'suwet'en.

Chase Bank is the largest funder of TransCanada Pipelines Ltd., who are responsible for the Coastal GasLink project. Climate justice activists are advocating that people move their money out of Chase Bank until it stops funding fossil fuel expansion projects like Coastal GasLink in Canada, Line 3 in Minnesota, and Keystone XL, particularly those that go through indigenous lands without free, prior and informed consent by indigenous communities.

This month's COP26 highlighted the urgency of global responses to the climate crisis. The International Energy Agency has said our only pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C must include "no investment in new fossil fuel supply projects."

The construction of pipelines like these is not only a path toward climate chaos, it also violates indigenous rights. Such fossil fuel projects on indigenous lands are frequently associated with escalated violence against indigenous Women, Girls, Trans, Two Spirits and others (search "man camps" for more about this).

"Man camps" for workers at oil pipelines are associated with increased incidents of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (#MMIW and #MMIWG) which is an epidemic among the indigenous. We will be hanging red dresses from a clotheline and from the trees to support the movement to shed light on what has been called a "genocide" by Canadian government reports.

We must defend indigenous territories, which comprise nearly 80 percent of Earth's biodiversity and we must help prevent missing and murdered Indigenous Women. Chase needs to hear our voice. The customers, employees and stockholders of Chase need to hear our voice.

Link to Yintah Access/Wet'suwet'en Call for Solidarity: https://www.yintahaccess.com... You can find ideas for signs here.

On Friday, November 26, meet at 2:30 pm to set up for the protest, corner of Water and Ocean St.

PLEASE WEAR BLACK and wear a long veil to be in mourning for Murdered Missing and Indigenous Women and please bring a red dress on a hanger if you have one. If you have any other impactful ideas or want to join in planning, please reply to this newsletter with your name and phone number.

For the planet, for all indigenous peoples, for ourselves.

Organized by XRSC Affinity