Paraphased Timeline of all Yuct Ne Senxiymetkwe Camp posts

Paraphrased Timeline of all Yuct Ne Senxiymetkwe Camp posts:
Main Source page:
Source unedited crosspost:

Date Posted—Day since Spill—Day of camp
August 18th- present timeline:

August 19th 2014 Sacred Fire lit at Imperial Mine entrance to call people gather and organize to move forward in a good way.

August 20h 2014: 2nd day- Land defenders sleep in shifts to monitor site and learn human waste still being disposed off, and clean up not a priority. Marine biologist states the site looks like hell. Local RCMP visit encampment.

August 22nd, 2014: 3rd day of camp

Encampment has visitors from Northern Secwepemc Xat’sull tribe- stories are shared, and supplies given to the encampment. Local Likely residents help in putting up tents and share stories—Encampment grows. Welcoming all visitors and donations.

August 23rd, 2014: 6th day of camp—The encampment continues to draw more people. Offers of fish from passerbys, and locals from Likely stay all day. Cheif Ann Louie of Williams Lake Indian band promises to resupply wood for the Sacred Fire, and sends a truckload.

Thompson River university language immersion class visits encampment and shares a song they wrote about singing loons that are heard at the camp every night. Stories are shared and the encampment has housing for elders and children in the way of a local cabin

August 24th, 2014: 7th day of encampment:Secwepemc Elder jean Williams from T’exelc brought spring salmon from Nuxalk, potatoes and corn and proceeded to instruct camp on traditional way of cooking salmon. Over food they shared information and made plans to move forward. Decided to hold a community feast and invite Likely resident as well as Secwepemc—plan to release report of findings later on in weak.

August 25th, 2014: 8th day of camp:

Sewepemc family form Williams Lake donates deer heart and spring salmon– more food donated from Discovery Organic.– News of local videographer chased away from spill site by security. Heightened security has become more obvious not only to encampment,but also Likely residents who feel unsure and uneasy as to what’s happened. Water ban was temporary lifted, but put back into place.

August 27th 2014– 10th day of encampment–

elders asked firekeeper to place prayer stick as close to devastated land and water as possible. Delegation leaves camp for Hazeltien Creek–chemical smell overwhelms and causes instant nausea. Uncountable amount of animal tracks found near site-Cougars, bears, moose, deer, birds, all had come. back at camp to prepare for feast—and to release spill assessment.

“The magnitude of the devastation and the intensity of the impact zone is something that does not and cannot translate via film or video. The scope of the long term impact to the land and life of this territory is nothing short of fatal. This cannot be forgotten, this cannot be overlooked, this cannot be allowed to happen again.”

August 28h, 2014—11day of encampment.

A feast and gathering was held with over 100 attendees and people from- Secwepemc, St’at’imc. Tsilhqot’in, Nuu Chah Nulth, Likely, Clayoquot Sound, Green Party members and media. Five chiefs were in attendance-Chief Darrell bob and Chief Michelle Edwards from St’at’imc, Cheif Francis Alec from Pavilion, Chief mike Archie Secwepemc from Canim Lake and Chief Roger Williams from Tsilhqot’in—they were presented with a 20 page spill assessment created by the encampment and various experts who came through in the previous days.

Link to report:

Encampment putting together panel of experts to make a presentations

Posted August 30th—12 day of camp–25th day of disaster

Salmon start their run—no clean up apparent, no clean drinking water in Likely.
Camp starts contacting various experts while continuing to collect information for their second report.

Current Status: no clean water—water situation not improving—Spanish mountain where residents advised to get water from closed do to finding arsenic in water. Imperial Metal started selling off assets and stockpiles.

August 31st, 2014—Day 13 of Sacred Fire—Day 26 of disaster.

Salmon jump up the falls to their spawning grounds. Locals come to the camp and watch and hearts are uplifted by the Salmons strength. The devastation of the local area weighs heavy as camp members prepare for winter and rain. 2 weeks the fire has burned and has brought together people from all nations in the common goal of protecting the water and territory.

September 1st, 2014—Day 14 of Sacred fire–Day 27 of disaster

Elders harvest Secwepemc most power medicine and give to the camp to”open our minds and guide our hearts”

The day is talk of decolonization-reclaiming language, food. Talk about displacement and dispossession– “Our struggles are all connnected and that if we don’t’ empower ourselves to take action, if we don’t do it, nobody is going to.” The work of the camp is only the first step. And the next step we must all do together.
September 1st–Day 28th of Disaster– 14th day of Sacred Fire.

At direction from the elders the camp is disbaned. The campers now ready to take the information gathered to Secwepemc communities, to listen and learn and speak. To share what they have learned over the alst 2 weeks. They talk everyone who came to the camp, who heard the call of fire.

“We’re  building everyday, each of us has a part of a solution, a piece of a  bigger puzzle. When we come together we can see so much, do so much, be  so much. The time is now, the place is here. Although we broke camp,  this fire continues. It burns in everybody. It spreads quickly. It can  do great things. “

Elders sttate that women started fire and are powerful and must take their role and responbility seriously—women’s time isnow.

Learn from the past, prepare in the present to defend the future.

September 3rd, 2014 day 29 of disaster

Campers traveling stop at Adams Lake—a water system under threat if Imperial Metals go through and mine for lead and zinc at Ruddock Creek. After seeing the disaster at Mt. polley—we’ve vowed to protect our waters

The morning CBC reported imperial metals stating that clean up wouldn’t start for 100 days as the continue to empty out Polley lake—Raised money, but won’t go towards cleanup, but opening Red Chris Mine—

Campers visted Elder Wolverine and Elder Flor, Ts’peten (Gustafson lake 1995) We present what we’ve learned, we present picures and maps and video from the site. We spend time on the phone..
A message from Elder and warrior Wolverrine:

“As people, we are the true decision makers on the land and once we let go of structures of destruction and oppression, we will make better decisions, we will build a better world.”

September 5th 2014—Day 30 of the disaster

The fire spreads. We move—to the island to reunite with friends and family—to Williams Lake and Soda Creek- we spread the things we learn—Some of us in Kamloops with Secwepemc and Okanagan friends—we present plot and plan—we organize.

The fire spreads, quicker every day– We feel anger and outrage, the weekly Imperial Metals meetings at Likely have stopped after the corporation publicly admitted it wasn’t cleaned up the spill.

2 days after the Imperial metals spill, a tailings pond in Mexico breached. Group Mexico was fined and criminal charges laid against their company. In Canada, Imperial Metals is allowed to build more mines and is not held accountable for it’s disasters.

We are more determined than ever—-We make alliances and determined to stop pipelines, the tar sands, the logging, Any and all means necessary.

September 5th, 2014 Day 31 of disaster:

Imperial Metals is not cleaning up, Imperial metlas is not being charged, fined, or held to account for what they have done and will continue doing, Imperial metals is continue operations at their Mt Polley Mine, moving assets and shuffling cards to continue to open Red Chris mine in Tahltan territory and Ruddock creek Mine in Secwepemc territory. They do not have our consent and will never ask for it, or be given it.

We must organize– We must stand in the way off the destroying machine. We must put our bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and we must make it stop.

“Today  we are in the process of what will be bigger things. Today we are  assembling our armies. Today we are making ourselves free, finding our  allies, those we will act with independently. Today we know the meaning  of solidarity. Today we are applying all of these things. Today we are  starting the fires of victory. Tomorrow we are burning.”

September 6th, 2014—Day 32 of disaster

You ask what can you do/ “What can we do?” Listen closely, when this camp page writes “we” it is not referring to only camp members—We isa collective- We as a whole- We as all of us, as a unit can and will come togetehr if we know whats good for us.

We organize-in cells-in affinity groups—families communities. Take actions we feel are needed. Drop banners hold bridges Stand in the way of the machines.

On Monday we’re holding a press conference to share what we’ve learned.. “We know this: The  mining industry is a monster. We can’t do this on our own. None of us  can. So get informed. Get angry. Get doing. It’s time for better things. “

Don't be shellfish...

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