Kinder Morgan's Qs on Aboriginal food provokes avalanche of fish photos
750+ fishing photos were sent in to viral social media campaign aimed at showing Kinder Morgan that its pipeline could threaten indigenous fishing areas
Hundreds of aboriginal people -- who apparently really love fish -- took the bait of an impromptu viral social media campaign to submit their favourite fishing pictures, following a Vancouver Observer story last week that reported that pipeline-giant Kinder Morgan had questioned how much a B.C. band still eats fish.
The fish tale began Friday when Kinder Morgan's lawyer had grilled a Kwantlen First Nation band councillor at a National Energy Board hearing in Chilliwack. The forum is gathering Aboriginal views on the proposed $5.4-billion Trans Mountain expansion pipeline.
“Do you have an estimate in terms of what proportion of Kwantlen members’ diet comes from sources in the Fraser River?” asked Kinder Morgan lawyer Terri-Lee Oleniuk.
Green Party of B.C.’s interim leader Adam Olsen thought the question was fishy, so he took to social media for reaction. He's also an Aboriginal man from Tsartlip First Nation.
“On Sunday morning, I tweeted out a photo of my smoke house – and said ‘hey, share your fish photos with me. Let’s show them what our diet is. I got overwhelmed by the response,” said Olsen on Tuesday.
Hundreds of fishing photos sent in
In just two days, he netted 750 photos from across B.C.
Olsen's new Facebook group page -- “Show Kinder Morgan your Food Fish!” -- has also been viewed 28,848 times. The photographs show native families hooked on fishing – from harvesting -- to processing -- to ceremonial uses.
Aboriginal fishing photos - Adam Olseon's facebook
There’s a picture of a child with her fish-cleaning gloves on backwards; another of a girl kissing a salmon; and yet more of pantries stacked with fish jars. Most are new snaps from the 2014 salmon run, Olsen blogged.
He said the photos will form a part of his official submission to the NEB as an intervener in November.
A number of first nations leaders also said Kinder Morgan's fish diet question was casting in the wrong direction.
“I found it pretty amusing,” chuckled Ken Watts, Vice-President of Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.
Watts said “fishing is a way of life” for virtually all B.C. first nations – but especially in coastal areas, such as the 14 Vancouver Island bands he represents.
“In some of our remote communities that are fly-in, or gravel road only – just to get to a grocery store, it’s quite an ordeal. So they rely on the ocean – they call the sea beds our garden,” said Watts on Tuesday.
In response to the reactions that the company's question has spawned, a Kinder Morgan spokesperson said:
“We understand the question posed by Trans Mountain’s legal counsel to the Kwantlen Nation may have interpreted by some as implying that Salmon is not an important resource to the Nation."
“We understand salmon is very important to Kwantlen Nation and many others for traditional, cultural, and commercial use.”
“We value our relationships with all Aboriginal groups whose territory we operate in,” wrote Ali Hounsell with the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.
More in News
Asking stupid questions is an insult to the intelligence of the First Nations peoples. This shows the arrogance and ignorant of Kinder Morgan. Clark, stop KM's tar sands at the BC/AB border to prevent another Enbridge, Kalamazoo River disaster from happening in the Fraser River. There will be no "Exxon Valdez's" in the Haro Straits and in the Boundary Pass. A toxic, tar sands spill is bad for your health.
Save our world by stopping your pipeline project, tar sand or any kind of dirty ideas...
if Kinder Morgan truely understood the importance of fish to First Nations diets, and they value the relationship with the First Nations, what was the purpose of the Question? Was it to raise questions about the true impact of fisheries to First Nations? Was it to provoke they witness Or attack his credibility with the board? Whatever the reason, KM should now instruct their lawyers to apologize and file an official statement with the board that they fully agree that a clean ocean and River environment is extremely important to the First Nations way of life.
this kind of reckless strategy certainly speaks to me about the nature and culture within Kinder Morgan. Such a reckless attitude towards a key player, suggests a careless company who should not be trusted to be careful when it comes to the environment.
well played Adam. You exposed this company for what it is!
The question would be related to the Valued Component (VC) as part of a environmental review, a very typical question and would also include plant and berry harvesting and medicinal plants
If I could I would eat more fish then I do, but I'm land locked. But what an under arm dirty game getting everyone looking at fish. So if nobody eats the fish and there's a terrible spill then is that spill not considered a enviromental reck. so if someone steals my truck it's not considered theft because I wasn't using it. are they actually saying that because no one eats the fish the risks from a industry with such a horrible record of environmental catastrophys should be over look?!!!!!!
" Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find out that money cannot be eaten." —Cree First Nation Prophecy
I'm not FN, but will stand with them unwaveringly in their struggle for their autonomy. And even so, I usually have salmon in the pantry. And if I should happen to travel back east I would be remiss with relatives if I failed to bring some with me to share. We don't need pipe dreams while we have fish stock in our rivers.
"Kinder Morgan's lawyer had grilled a Kwantlen First Nation band councillor"
... probably an unfortunate choice of words when the subject under discussion is salmon!
I wanna go fishing too but I have to work 70 hours a week so that I can pay $60,000 a year in taxes so that "first nations" can go fishing all day everyday. Build the damn pipeline already!!