It乌鸦传媒檚 about clean water. It乌鸦传媒檚 always been about clean water.

Miranda Dick, Secw茅pemc, repeatedly emphasizes the importance of clean water when she speaks about her actions trying to stop the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

She said for her whole life, stemming from her mom and dad, she乌鸦传媒檚 been protecting the watershed. Her mom passed away from cancer more than 18 years ago.

乌鸦传媒淪he always said it was in the food we eat and the water we drink 乌鸦传媒� this cancer would be contaminating our human consumption. So she always said to protect clean water, protect the berries, and protect the salmon and the deer. It乌鸦传媒檚 our food supply, right?乌鸦传媒� remarked Miranda.

乌鸦传媒淪o I always led with that, over the course of time, protection of clean water.乌鸦传媒�

Miranda grew up in the Shuswap, where she can trace back five generations of her family which have lived in the region from 乌鸦传媒渢ime immemorial.乌鸦传媒�

Miranda said she and others have been raising awareness about the tar sands (also called oil sands) in Alberta, and other potential threats to water since the early 2000s.

The term 乌鸦传媒渆verything downstream乌鸦传媒� was coined from the devastation and destruction for the Athabasca Indigenous people who have cancer and other effects from the tar sands, the flow of pipelines from there, and the possibility of more spills.

乌鸦传媒淎nd that乌鸦传媒檚 literally how the people in this territory look at it. Because if you乌鸦传媒檙e looking at waterways, we take care of the water here and it flows out to the Fraser and then out to the ocean. We term it as the life cycle of the salmon in a four-year cycle.

乌鸦传媒淪o that乌鸦传媒檚 the backstory of what it entails to the Secw茅pemc people who live here.乌鸦传媒�

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She said Canada has no deed to Secw茅pemc land but has a conflict of interest.

乌鸦传媒淏ecause Canada owns the pipeline as well as governs the Indigenous people 乌鸦传媒� I see that always as a conflict of interest because you can乌鸦传媒檛 govern the people and then also have them being starved out basically. Because if anything happens to our salmon, as we all know, the Indigenous people in the surrounding area heavily rely on our salmon for our food.乌鸦传媒�

She said people refer to the Trans Mountain impact benefit agreement, and judges, lawyers and others say, 乌鸦传媒榃ell the bands have signed on, right?乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淵es, they possibly did. So if you乌鸦传媒檙e looking at this postage stamp-size reservation that signs the agreement, that乌鸦传媒檚 only pertaining to that. But then you look at the whole of the nation.

乌鸦传媒淲e have a large mapping of our territory, that乌鸦传媒檚 what we乌鸦传媒檙e talking about. The Secw茅pemc as a nation still say no consultation, no consent.乌鸦传媒�

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She said Secw茅pemc people think of the salmon as relatives, relatives who they want to continue to live.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 not just saying no to this mega project, it is also to make sure we and the relatives can stay at the population level we would like to see, so we can live here for time immemorial again, in peace.乌鸦传媒�

Miranda was arrested in 2021 after doing a hair-cutting ceremony at the site where Trans Mountain was putting the pipeline beneath the Thompson River.

乌鸦传媒淢y hair cutting ceremony was a portion of a grief and loss ceremony, because so much is being prosecuted for just purely living as an Indigenous person乌鸦传媒� So the singing and the chanting I was doing was to mourn that process,乌鸦传媒� she said, the process of forcibly putting the pipeline under the water against Secw茅pemc wishes,乌鸦传媒漵he said.

乌鸦传媒淚t was a great loss to us and it was felt all throughout the nation乌鸦传媒ξ谘淮�媒�

The RCMP waited until she had completed her hair-cutting ceremony before arresting her.

Miranda said while the media call what Indigenous people do 乌鸦传媒榩rotesting,乌鸦传媒� she calls it protecting through ceremony.

乌鸦传媒淚 want to state that protection of clean water through ceremony is always what we乌鸦传媒檝e led by乌鸦传媒�, whether it乌鸦传媒檚 biosolids that are impeding our waterways or wanting to be dumped in a major aquifer.乌鸦传媒�

She referred to Turtle Valley as having the second-largest aquifer in B.C.

Miranda said she and other Secw茅pemc people were also involved in the protection of Mount Morrisey at Sun Peaks, which was their second berry picking and medicine collection area. The use of Secw茅pemc land has always been at the forefront for the people, she said, as they go out to pick berries and know if there乌鸦传媒檚 any disturbance such as logging, deforestation or other activities.

They also look at the salmon in the fall.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 all interconnected, so we, as in my household, not just me, but all Secw茅pemc, we乌鸦传媒檙e doing this all the time.乌鸦传媒�

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The destruction to waterways is evident throughout the province in the form of deforestation and flooding, she said.

乌鸦传媒淭he underlying issue is the clean water; what draws Indigenous people is having to protect that. You could just take one drive down the road and you could see the devastation and destruction that乌鸦传媒檚 being caused by the Trans Mountain Pipeline. You could just see this is not a good thing.

乌鸦传媒淎nd they乌鸦传媒檝e actually gone through provincial parks. Even the Kenna Cartwright Park, it乌鸦传媒檚 a clear cut straight down to the water, going right under the Thompson River, across that way to the airport side road. And then right up to the next provincial parks area.

乌鸦传媒淎ll of these things are impacting the water. Those are the things that are clear that you can see.乌鸦传媒�

She said Indigenous people from B.C. to California and beyond are raising the flag, like the canary in the coal mine.

Miranda will be returning to court in November this year.

During the interview, Miranda sounded relaxed, good-natured and optimistic about the future, both her own and the Earth乌鸦传媒檚.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 all about ceremony. We live our lives through ceremony,乌鸦传媒� she said, emphasizing she doesn乌鸦传媒檛 want to hand down to her six children all the environmental effects.

乌鸦传媒淢y lifestyle permits me to go up against a billion-dollar corporation and I乌鸦传媒檓 still standing here today.

乌鸦传媒淭hat I could say no and I乌鸦传媒檓 doing something about the environmental impacts乌鸦传媒� My kids are watching that, just like I watched my mother and my father乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淢y grandfather said it best to me. He said you乌鸦传媒檙e either an environmentalist or you乌鸦传媒檙e Indigenous. I said why?

乌鸦传媒淗e said because environmentalists get to move on to the next thing, they get to move, they get to leave.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e Indigenous, we live here, we have to look after the environment, and what does that mean, what does that entail? And I said, it means I don乌鸦传媒檛 go anywhere乌鸦传媒ξ谘淮�媒�

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Although she乌鸦传媒檚 only 45, Miranda is an elder in training.

She said knowledge has been passed down to her, and the elders are leaving, so she must do it.

Artistry is also a big part of her life. She likes textiles, which she uses in basketry and weaving. She also paints and sews, 乌鸦传媒渨hatever my artistry will allow me that day.乌鸦传媒�

Miranda and her sister made a quilt for water, 30 feet long and four feet wide. People from all over contributed 10-inch squares. It is emblazoned with 乌鸦传媒楴O TMX.乌鸦传媒� The youngest person to submit a square was four, the oldest, a 92-year-old grandmother from Quebec.

乌鸦传媒淚 have it here, I take it around everywhere I go to raise awareness of the importance of water,乌鸦传媒� she said, which ranges from universities to kindergartens.

乌鸦传媒淚f you feed into negative you get negative. We see it as, we feed into positivity. That乌鸦传媒檚 why I make beautiful things and put that out in the beautiful world乌鸦传媒ξ谘淮�媒�

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