The article recounts the bold actions of the Wampis Nation's Charip guardians, who disarmed police officers colluding with illegal gold miners. This incident led to a standoff where the Wampis demanded government action to protect their territory from environmental destruction caused by wildcat mining. As a result, they have taken control, setting up checkpoints and conducting searches against illegal mining activities. Their fierce protective stance emphasizes their commitment to safeguarding their land against harmful outsiders.
Disarming the police officers was a risky move, but the members of the Charip, as the Indigenous guards of the Wampis Nation people are known, were confident that something was amiss.
The Wampis refused to release them until the government sent a high-level commission to address the problem of wildcat goldminers plundering and polluting their land.
Nearly a year later, the Charip guardians rather than the state have exerted control. They use stop-and-search at a checkpoint to thin out the number of mining dredgers upriver.
We welcome visitors but will not allow people who come to do us harm, he says.
Collection
[
|
...
]