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Wet'suwet'en chiefs distance selves from clan's camps

A petition in support of a camp set up southwest of Houston to protest plans to run natural gas pipelines through the area is raising concerns for the chiefs of four Wet'suwet'en clans who are in favour of the work.

A petition in support of a camp set up southwest of Houston to protest plans to run natural gas pipelines through the area is raising concerns for the chiefs of four Wet'suwet'en clans who are in favour of the work.

"The definition of sustainability for some of the groups who signed the petition and live in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, elsewhere in Canada and outside the country, is very different from what it means for Nations in northern British Columbia that are anxious to climb out of poverty and find meaningful opportunity," Skin Tyee Nation Chief Rene Skin said in a statement issued Monday.

"This issue needs to be resolved by the Wet'suwet'en people, and not by others who hold no interest in our land."

Wet'suwet'en First Nation Chief Karen Ogen, Nee Tahi Buhn Chief Ray Morris and Burns Lake Band Chief Dan George have also put their names to the statement.

They represent four of 16 First Nations who are part of the First Nations LNG Alliance.

As they have in past summers, the Unist'ot'en, a clan within the Wet'suet'en hereditary chief system, have established camps to act as "checkpoints" while allowing only those who have gained their consent to enter.

On Thursday, a letter in support of the camp that included the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, First Nations Summit and the B.C. Assembly of First Nations as signatories was made public.

Signatories also included a long list of other organizations, some based in Quebec, Ontario and the United States.

"We support the inherent and constitutional rights of the Unist'ot'en to govern and protect their traditional territories in accordance with their laws," the letter said.

It said the camp was on "high alert" in response to indications the RCMP were preparing to round up the camps' occupants.

"We are deeply and gravely concerned to learn from a variety of sources that the RCMP appear to be on the verge of executing a highly provocative and dangerously reckless operational plan to make arrests," the letter says.

On Friday, B.C. RCMP issued a statement saying the concern is unfounded.

"To clarify, the B.C. RCMP has no intention of 'taking down the camp' set up by the Unist'ot'en," Mounties said.

"We value the Wet'suwet'en culture, the connection to the land and traditions being taught and passed on at the camp, and the importance of the camp to healing."

The camps are located near a bridge across the Morice River at the 65 kilometre mark on Morice West Forest Service Road and at the 29.5 kilometre mark on the Chisolm Road.

According to a posting on a Unist'ot'en Facebook page, a crew doing preparatory work for the Chevron-Kitimat project, which includes a natural gas pipeline that would start at a pumping station near Summit Lake, is within two kilometres of one of the camps.

Chevron-Kitimat spokeswoman Gillian Robinson said this summer's work program will continue for a few more weeks before it wraps up. Wet'suet'en members are on the crew, she said.