Crystal Lameman of Beaver Lake Cree and Jasmine Thomas of Saik’uz First Nation on the impacts of tar sands and pipelines [audio]

K’jipuktuk(Halifax) – At the recent PowerShift Atlantic conference, the Halifax Media Co-op had the humbling opportunity to interview Crystal Lameman and Jasmine Thomas, two of the keynote speakers at the event.

Lameman, from Beaver Lake Cree Nation in Northern ‘Alberta’, and Thomas, from Saik’uz First Nation in Northern ‘British Columbia’, have been strong voices representing their respective communities against the actuality and potentiality of tar sands-related developments.

Due to the cumulative environmental infringements that tar sands development has had upon treaty rights, Lameman’s community has won the right to a legal showdown with the governments of Alberta and Canada.

Thomas’ community, in defence against pipeline development through traditional territories, has aligned itself with numerous other First Nations in unceded ‘British Columbia’ and has created the Yinka Dene Alliance, a group that has created a virtual wall of resistance around oil pipeline developments.

Listen to the interviews here.

The first part of our Front Line communities interviews, with Vanessa Gray of Aamjiwnaang First Nation, can be found here.

First published by the Halifax Media Co-op.