Itsa国际传媒檚 about clean water. Itsa国际传媒檚 always been about clean water.

Miranda Dick, Secw茅pemc, repeatedly emphasizes the importance of clean water when she speaks about her actions trying to stop the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

She said for her whole life, stemming from her mom and dad, shesa国际传媒檚 been protecting the watershed. Her mom passed away from cancer more than 18 years ago.

sa国际传媒淪he always said it was in the food we eat and the water we drink sa国际传媒� this cancer would be contaminating our human consumption. So she always said to protect clean water, protect the berries, and protect the salmon and the deer. Itsa国际传媒檚 our food supply, right?sa国际传媒� remarked Miranda.

sa国际传媒淪o I always led with that, over the course of time, protection of clean water.sa国际传媒�

Miranda grew up in the Shuswap, where she can trace back five generations of her family which have lived in the region from sa国际传媒渢ime immemorial.sa国际传媒�

Miranda said she and others have been raising awareness about the tar sands (also called oil sands) in Alberta, and other potential threats to water since the early 2000s.

The term sa国际传媒渆verything downstreamsa国际传媒� was coined from the devastation and destruction for the Athabasca Indigenous people who have cancer and other effects from the tar sands, the flow of pipelines from there, and the possibility of more spills.

sa国际传媒淎nd thatsa国际传媒檚 literally how the people in this territory look at it. Because if yousa国际传媒檙e looking at waterways, we take care of the water here and it flows out to the Fraser and then out to the ocean. We term it as the life cycle of the salmon in a four-year cycle.

sa国际传媒淪o thatsa国际传媒檚 the backstory of what it entails to the Secw茅pemc people who live here.sa国际传媒�

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She said Canada has no deed to Secw茅pemc land but has a conflict of interest.

sa国际传媒淏ecause Canada owns the pipeline as well as governs the Indigenous people sa国际传媒� I see that always as a conflict of interest because you cansa国际传媒檛 govern the people and then also have them being starved out basically. Because if anything happens to our salmon, as we all know, the Indigenous people in the surrounding area heavily rely on our salmon for our food.sa国际传媒�

She said people refer to the Trans Mountain impact benefit agreement, and judges, lawyers and others say, sa国际传媒榃ell the bands have signed on, right?sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淵es, they possibly did. So if yousa国际传媒檙e looking at this postage stamp-size reservation that signs the agreement, thatsa国际传媒檚 only pertaining to that. But then you look at the whole of the nation.

sa国际传媒淲e have a large mapping of our territory, thatsa国际传媒檚 what wesa国际传媒檙e talking about. The Secw茅pemc as a nation still say no consultation, no consent.sa国际传媒�

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She said Secw茅pemc people think of the salmon as relatives, relatives who they want to continue to live.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not just saying no to this mega project, it is also to make sure we and the relatives can stay at the population level we would like to see, so we can live here for time immemorial again, in peace.sa国际传媒�

Miranda was arrested in 2021 after doing a hair-cutting ceremony at the site where Trans Mountain was putting the pipeline beneath the Thompson River.

sa国际传媒淢y hair cutting ceremony was a portion of a grief and loss ceremony, because so much is being prosecuted for just purely living as an Indigenous personsa国际传媒� So the singing and the chanting I was doing was to mourn that process,sa国际传媒� she said, the process of forcibly putting the pipeline under the water against Secw茅pemc wishes,sa国际传媒漵he said.

sa国际传媒淚t was a great loss to us and it was felt all throughout the nationsa国际传媒�sa国际传媒�

The RCMP waited until she had completed her hair-cutting ceremony before arresting her.

Miranda said while the media call what Indigenous people do sa国际传媒榩rotesting,sa国际传媒� she calls it protecting through ceremony.

sa国际传媒淚 want to state that protection of clean water through ceremony is always what wesa国际传媒檝e led bysa国际传媒�, whether itsa国际传媒檚 biosolids that are impeding our waterways or wanting to be dumped in a major aquifer.sa国际传媒�

She referred to Turtle Valley as having the second-largest aquifer in B.C.

Miranda said she and other Secw茅pemc people were also involved in the protection of Mount Morrisey at Sun Peaks, which was their second berry picking and medicine collection area. The use of Secw茅pemc land has always been at the forefront for the people, she said, as they go out to pick berries and know if theresa国际传媒檚 any disturbance such as logging, deforestation or other activities.

They also look at the salmon in the fall.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 all interconnected, so we, as in my household, not just me, but all Secw茅pemc, wesa国际传媒檙e doing this all the time.sa国际传媒�

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The destruction to waterways is evident throughout the province in the form of deforestation and flooding, she said.

sa国际传媒淭he underlying issue is the clean water; what draws Indigenous people is having to protect that. You could just take one drive down the road and you could see the devastation and destruction thatsa国际传媒檚 being caused by the Trans Mountain Pipeline. You could just see this is not a good thing.

sa国际传媒淎nd theysa国际传媒檝e actually gone through provincial parks. Even the Kenna Cartwright Park, itsa国际传媒檚 a clear cut straight down to the water, going right under the Thompson River, across that way to the airport side road. And then right up to the next provincial parks area.

sa国际传媒淎ll of these things are impacting the water. Those are the things that are clear that you can see.sa国际传媒�

She said Indigenous people from B.C. to California and beyond are raising the flag, like the canary in the coal mine.

Miranda will be returning to court in November this year.

During the interview, Miranda sounded relaxed, good-natured and optimistic about the future, both her own and the Earthsa国际传媒檚.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 all about ceremony. We live our lives through ceremony,sa国际传媒� she said, emphasizing she doesnsa国际传媒檛 want to hand down to her six children all the environmental effects.

sa国际传媒淢y lifestyle permits me to go up against a billion-dollar corporation and Isa国际传媒檓 still standing here today.

sa国际传媒淭hat I could say no and Isa国际传媒檓 doing something about the environmental impactssa国际传媒� My kids are watching that, just like I watched my mother and my fathersa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淢y grandfather said it best to me. He said yousa国际传媒檙e either an environmentalist or yousa国际传媒檙e Indigenous. I said why?

sa国际传媒淗e said because environmentalists get to move on to the next thing, they get to move, they get to leave.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e Indigenous, we live here, we have to look after the environment, and what does that mean, what does that entail? And I said, it means I donsa国际传媒檛 go anywheresa国际传媒�sa国际传媒�

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Although shesa国际传媒檚 only 45, Miranda is an elder in training.

She said knowledge has been passed down to her, and the elders are leaving, so she must do it.

Artistry is also a big part of her life. She likes textiles, which she uses in basketry and weaving. She also paints and sews, sa国际传媒渨hatever my artistry will allow me that day.sa国际传媒�

Miranda and her sister made a quilt for water, 30 feet long and four feet wide. People from all over contributed 10-inch squares. It is emblazoned with sa国际传媒楴O TMX.sa国际传媒� The youngest person to submit a square was four, the oldest, a 92-year-old grandmother from Quebec.

sa国际传媒淚 have it here, I take it around everywhere I go to raise awareness of the importance of water,sa国际传媒� she said, which ranges from universities to kindergartens.

sa国际传媒淚f you feed into negative you get negative. We see it as, we feed into positivity. Thatsa国际传媒檚 why I make beautiful things and put that out in the beautiful worldsa国际传媒�sa国际传媒�

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