Wednesday walkout at Langara draws attention to Wet’suwet’en
Langara joined several schools nation-wide to draw attention to RCMP involvement on Indigenous land.
By Lucas Jornitz
An estimated 60 students, faculty and others walked out of class Wednesday afternoon to take part in a demonstration in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs.
The rally, which began at about 2:30 p.m., was staged in front of the Langara T Building with the crowd moving towards Cambie and 49th Street to block the intersection and prevent traffic from moving through.
Tanis Wilson, Langara student and Indigenous student organizer, felt the event was successful and had a diverse crowd.
“This event, as an Indigenous person, means taking back our voices and standing up for ourselves,” said Wilson, adding that the Canadian government has a responsibility in ending the protests. “[The] government needs to sit down and have a nation-to-nation conversation with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs.”
Langara was one of many schools across British Columbia and Canada where students marched out of class to draw attention to the Coastal GasLink pipeline being built through Indigenous lands, and RCMP involvement on Wet’suwet’en land. In the Lower Mainland, demonstrations were held at University of Victoria, Capilano University, UBC and SFU.
Langara student Kelsey Pepion said that he thinks marches like this are a step towards progress and he is happy to stand up for his people.
“I think it’s awesome,” Pepion said. “I feel great about it. It’s definitely a movement for us to be heard as Indigenous people.”
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