An event held in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en pipeline protests being held in British Columbia drew dozens of Juneauites to Auke Bay Recreation Area Sunday. (Courtesy Photo | Sigoop Price)

An event held in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en pipeline protests being held in British Columbia drew dozens of Juneauites to Auke Bay Recreation Area Sunday. (Courtesy Photo | Sigoop Price)

Juneau activists stand with Canadian protesters

Solidarity for indigenous rights.

Dozens of Juneauites stood in solidarity with indigenous opposition to a Canadian pipeline project.

At at Sunday event at Auke Bay Recreation Area, about 50 people gathered to show support for ongoing protests against the Wet’suwet’en pipeline. The government-approved pipeline that would go through Wet’suwet’en territory in British Columbia faces opposition from Canada’s First Nation people and indigenous rights supporters in both the U.S. and Canada.

In Juneau, solidarity was shown through song, dance and signs, said one of the event’s organizers Naawéiyaa Austin Tagaban.

“We were just gathering because we feel like we’re in the same struggle, not the exact same struggle, but the struggles we have here in Alaska, are related to those struggles,” Tagaban said. “We are battling for the same sort of freedom.”

Plus, Tagaban said the Wet’suwet’en have a culture and proximity that resonates with his Tlingit identity.

“They are not that far away from us,” he said. “We are only separated by this colonial border. They are our relatives.”

• Contact reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.

More in News

(Juneau Empire File)
Aurora forecast for the week of Nov. 27

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Angie Flick (center), finance director for the City and Borough of Juneau, provides details of an early draft of next year’s municipal budget to Assembly members as City Manager Katie Koester (left) and Budget Manager Adrien Wendel listen during a Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night in the Assembly Chambers. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Assembly members prepare to retreat so they can move ahead on next year’s budget

“Very draft” $190 million spending plan for FY25 based on status quo has $1 million deficit.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on Nov. 30, 2005. (Photo by Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week of Dec. 3

Three decades of capital city coverage.

Cheyenne Latu (left), a pharmacy technician at Ron’s Apothecary Shoppe, and business co-owner Gretchen Watts hang a poster at the front counter Thursday announcing the store’s closure after Dec. 6 as Jessica Kirtley, another pharmacy technician, works at the front register. The nearby Safeway supermarket has agreed to take the prescriptions of all customers as well as hire all of the independent pharmacy’s employees, according to the co-owners who are retiring. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Ron’s Apothecary Shoppe closing after nearly 50 years as co-owners retire; last day is Dec. 6

Safeway taking over all prescriptions and offering jobs to all employees, according to owners.

Attendees at the Friends of NRA — Juneau’s banquet in 2019 talk near auction tables at Centennial Hall. The fundraising event is resuming Saturday after a four-year COVID-19 disruption. (Photo courtesy of Friends of NRA — Juneau)
Friends of NRA — Juneau fundraising banquet returns Saturday after four-year pandemic absence

New Zealand hunting safari, signed Ted Nugent guitar among items being offered.

Wade Bryson, a Juneau Assembly member, explains why he favors giving local businesses a “sales tax holiday” for at least one day next year, targeting Feb. 29 as a suitable date, during the Assembly’s Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night. The committee voted to hold onto the proposal for further study rather than sending it to the full Assembly. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A local sales tax holiday? Don’t pack your shopping bags yet

Proposal to waive taxes for a day or two each year isn’t a quick sale to most Assembly members

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Choir members rehearse Tuesday night for a Bach holiday concert at Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Quartet of Bach compositions joins lineup of local large-ensemble performances this season

Concerts this weekend part of resurging “wealth of riches” by choruses and orchestras, director says.

Most Read