This is the text of Nina Newington’s comments to participants at the Shoulder to Shoulder, We are All Treaty People Rally yesterday:
“Wela’lioq to Glenda Junta and Michelle Paul for extending the invitation to create this rally; to Elder – Doctor – Albert Marshall for sharing his wisdom; to the land defenders at Hunters Mountain who inspired us all to come together in solidarity.
“I’ve been on Hunter’s Mountain. I’ve seen the clearcuts. I’ve seen the destruction. I’ve driven too many logging roads across this province. I know how little is left of our Wabanaki forests, how much has been taken from these unceded lands over decades of brutal extraction. I know how much it matters to protect what is left for us humans, yes, but also for all our relations, for salmon and dragonflies, turtles and moose, black ash and the tiniest lichens. Without healthy forests, there is no livable planet for future generations.
“This government has launched a sustained attack on Treaty Rights, on the Earth, on democratic rights. It feels relentless, exhausting. It’s meant to. This government is arming itself for confrontation. The so-called Protecting Nova Scotians Act means that the next time Citizen scientists set up the kind of research and education camps we have run for the past four years, anyone who ‘erects, occupies or uses’ such a camp can be arrested and faces a fine of up to $50,000 and/or 6 months in jail. Such arbitrary, excessive penalties are designed to intimidate.
Elder Albert Marshall talks to rally participants
“Will we be intimidated? You heard what the folks at Hunters Mountain have to say. Are we intimidated? No. Are we intimidated?
“When someone tries to bully you, what do you do? Team up and stand up. Shoulder to shoulder. That’s what we are doing here today. This government’s actions are outrageous, and I am here to celebrate. We are choosing to come together, the many, many groups and individuals working on the issues closest to their particular hearts.
“Look around you. This is something to celebrate, this coming together of the people of the Dawn and the people who are guests in this beautiful land. This is the way forward,shoulder to shoulder. If we want a livable future then this must be just the beginning, this rally.
“I can tell you from many months camped on logging roads with others who care as deeply as I do for our forests and all the creatures that depend on them, there is so much joy and strength to be found in standing together. In getting in the way of what damages the Earth. I felt that joy and strength flowing at Hunter’s mountain both times that I have been there.
“There is sacrifice, yes, in stepping up, but there is also something that feels so good inside when you know you are doing what you are meant to do. For some that means camping on a logging road, for others it means baking or making art or looking after the dogs or the kids. We all have something to offer.
“So I’m going to ask you to make a very simple pledge. It’s a pledge I made myself the year I turned 60: I will do what I can. I will do what I can. It is simple, but I warn you, when that pledge rises from the grounds of your being, it can change your life.
“If enough of us make this pledge and we work together, Mi’kmaq and settlers, we will change the world. When they flow together, a thousand trickling streams become a roaring river.”
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Nina Newington is a writer, lichen hunter and president of SOOF (Save Our Old Forests) – and a writer for Nova Scotia Forest Matters.