Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs – Popcorn Box Titles

Part One

As many Wet’suwet’en have tearfully described to me, “it was and always will be a painful memory of what we were subjected to during the period of colonization. But it pales in comparison to having your own people subject you to even more, because they hold the power to do it to us.”

It’s very painful to see your inheritance, your lands and your families, being ruled by people who have no right to be your Hereditary chief.

To set the record straight we need to READ THE RULES

Below is a copy of Wet’suwet’en law, as presented to the the Supreme Court of Canada in
Delgamuukw v British Columbia, [1997] 3 SCR 1010, also known as Delgamuukw v The Queen.

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A solid rule that is being broken by the Wet’suwet’en Five, also from the submission to the the Supreme Court of Canada in Delgamuukw v British Columbia.

There are only 13 Hereditary Chiefs or House Chiefs, 13 Sub chiefs, as they are the ones chosen to sit in front of the Herditary Chief, they will be the future Hereditary Chiefs (contrary to what the Office has posted on their website) then come Wing Chiefs, they are not hereditary chiefs, then there are “name chiefs” we will cover that in Part 2.

“It is by no accident that the rule says “from uncle to aunt, meaning sideways in a family following matrilineal rule” or “nephew or niece” “but not from father to son”

Jumping houses inside a clan puts the linage in a different family.

Repeatedly in recent history, in the last few years, this breaking with Wet’suwet’en law is being used to manipulate control over clans.

This is the area of primary confusion, not just among the Wet’suwet’en, but even the present 8 hereditary chiefs seem confused about the rules, its obvious when they allow this breach of laws to happen without intervention. The problems stems from a misunderstanding of the meaning of clans within clans, we will cover this in greater detail in Part 2. Backing this up with historical references.

It could be a consequence of lost in translation.

Before I go on, again this points to the negligence of the Office of Wet’suwet’en, who have had the opportunity to hire people to hammer out all the rules and protocols, and here we are over 22 years later and they are still at the starting stages of defining Wet’suwet’en law. If they would have assigned a team to put in writing the rules that are already written in Delgamuukw history, could already be a solid basis for Wet’suwet’en law.

 

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These rules were submitted into evidence, so they must be used by the Wet’suwet’en Five, regardless of their ambitions to do otherwise. Read carefully, let me repeat!

Feast Names are passed on from “family” clan member to “family” clan member, not to someone in another house inside the clan.” They stay in the house, read how they are passed on, they are not passed from house to house, they stay in a family by way of matrilineal decent.

In this instance the Wolf and Bear Clan, has clans within it broken down by family houses also referred to as clans or houses. (gathered from historical studies provided to the the Supreme Court of Canada in Delgamuukw v British Columbia)

This is exactly why its so important to track your family lineage as opposed to just being a member of a clan group. Tracking lineage show you who is eligible to become a hereditary chief in a family, and being matrilineal in a world that thinks paternal complicated things a lot. For example in matrilineal if you have all sons, you cannot pass on family title.

This is now NOT being done, we are seeing not only house to house jumping but now also clan to clan.

 

When you have the Wet’suwet’en Five declare the pipeline will never be built on one hand and take 2 million dollars from the BC Government with the other hand, with the BC Government who has made it abundantly clear the pipeline will proceed its what they are NOT TELLING YOU that we should be most concerned about.

“Nobody would be out at the 44 kilometer  Gitdimt’en Checkpoint if not for OIL and GAS.   Nobody would be out at the Morice Logging Road Bridge or at the Hooligans Hotel if not for OIL and GAS”

They would never walk there, they would never supply themselves on horseback, they are 100% reliant on OIL and GAS to exist at those blockades.

So why are they really there?

They know now where the energy corridors of the future will be and know they are in a position to milk them for millions if not billions of dollars, so deciding who among the Wet’suwet’en gets ownership is critical to the master plan of the Wet’suwet’en Five to own and control it all. The Wet’suwet’en Five, will insure they and their families end up controlling all the assets of the Wet’suwet’en nation at the expense of everyone else.

They know Wet’suwet’en law will never supersede Canadian Law, they know Canadian law or Provincial law will allow the pipelines to proceed, so they are using the opportunity to up the price of trespass and using protestors to stir up the nation against government, all in an effort to drive up their nest egg value. While other First Nations will get millions in benefits, the Wet’suwet’en Five expect to hold the process hostage so they get the lion’s share.

How will they pull this off?

They will and already have bypassed Wet’suwet’en laws on how hereditary chiefs are appointed, no longer are they appointed from within, now members of other houses are deciding who will be your hereditary chief.  Refer to the RULES near the start of this article.

Just one of many recent examples of imposed hereditary chief on a house is the illegal appointment by non house members, being appointed by members of another house into the Grizzly House, under the direction of one of the Wet’suwet’en Five.

“Strategic control of  clans, by breaking Wet’suwet’en laws and loading the positions with their supporters”

Very few if any members of the Grizzly House, was involved when the second Hereditary Chief Woos was named by members outside of the Grizzly house. That said there were no known members of the Grizzly house present when the decision was made to strip Darlene Glaim of the title “Woos.” It was made by 4 of the Wet’suwet’en Five in complete violation of Wet’suwet’en laws. Interference in a house affairs has always been forbidden.

Unless Darlene Glaim chooses to pass on her title, nobody can take it away from her.

They did it because she is a woman, they did not have the guts to do that to the men who hold blankets and serve the community at the Witset Band Office. There are a number of known male supporters of CGL and or the Wet’suwet’en Matrilineal Coalition, all of them still have their titles. The stripping of titles reeks of male chauvinism.

Male chauvinism has always resulted in abuse, and violence against women, making them second class citizens of their own nation.

In a story done with CKPGToday, Molly Wickham identifies herself as a Hereditary Chief for the Gitdimt’en clan and that they are rebuilding their camp on the Morice river forest service road 45 km southwest of Houston.

What makes this turn of events more astounding is that she has been upgraded to Hereditary Chief in spite of the rule that Hereditary Chiefs are limited to 13 in number and are heads of houses. Unless this is just another one the the many white lies being told to the press who gobble it up as gospel?

Assuming they did make her a Hereditary Chief in the Gitdimt’en clan is again breaking with Wet’suwet’en laws, now that prestigious position has been devalued to that of popcorn box credentials to be flaunted at the press to create a sense of entitlement that does not even exist.

Molly Wickham is now the third person to hold Hereditary Chief status in the Grizzly house, that’s two over the limit. But then this is about duping the press so Wet’suwet’en laws  no longer matter.

Molly Wickham is not even a Wet’suwet’en by birth or marriage,  Molly is half aboriginal with a mother that is part Gixsan and Stellat’en . Molly and has a husband who is also half aboriginal with a mother who is Haida. She comes from the House of Spoox a Gitxan house in Hagwilget. As an avid supporter of Jeff Brown also a parachute Hereditary Chief from another house holding down a name in the Anaskaski house, being a career activist has earned Molly the position of Hereditary chief ahead of all of the family members who had rightful claim to be next in line.

Molly Wichham did not grow up on a reserve but was raised in the city, as for her dad, don’t ask, it’s obviously a secret, but no secret that he was Caucasian. I suggest it’s a secret because she never talks about her real father so clearly she wants to bury that side of her lineage. You hear these career protestors talk so much about the love and respect for their fathers and mothers, yet its not racist to subject your own father to non existence.

Quoting Molly “Inspired by our ancestors we will continue fighting….” like words from a fiction novel.

Is it not racist to absolve 50% of the blood that runs in your veins from the accusation you throw at that side of your genetics? How often have you heard protestors or even Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief’s speak respectfully about the non aboriginal part of who they really are? How many times have you heard them blame their own father or mothers for the mess they are in?

But slamming Canadians as being their problem has become their source of income, in turn, its also why Canadians are sick of being told that building the nation we have now, is the same as immigrants today signing up for benefits of our social system.

There are Canadians who have lived their life here because they were born here, some have ancestors that date back over 100 years ago, they built this nation, and instead of respecting your forefathers, you want to milk the gravy train, from the First Nations side of your genetics.

But that’s not racist?

In the news story, Molly talks about how the traditional foods are no longer available due to global warming and industry,

wait a minute! Anyone bedside me notice the absence of what foods are no longer available? A cover for buying fruit and vegetables from local grocery stores?

This is so typical to invent problems to blame your father side of your genetics, while harvesting the benefits of the mother side.

The loudest of all the protestors always seem to be blaming the colonial side of their own blood, its like they blame Canadians for the blood they cannot profit from. Meaning they want to inherit wealth, and not be bothered with working for it.

She fails to say that it was First Nations who had so many of the logging contracts in the Morice watershed, Wet’suwet’en Logging contractors, like Adam, Alphonse, and Jeff Brown.

It’s really a TWO-FACED lie, by the same people who gave her a Wet’suwet’en name and status. Ask Jeff Brown HC - AKA Logging Contractor who the contractors were in that area, no wonder he knows the area so well.

Then Molly goes on to complain about pipelines, how they will destroy everything
when there is already one out there, it’s been there for 50 plus years heating First Nations homes, but she pretends it does not exist

(Pacific Northern Gas) No spills, no environmental damage, no loss to wildlife, or food supply and the continued assertion NO PIPELINE WILL BE BUILT, and pretending the one there does not exist.

Now when you consider how a Hereditary chief is chosen, a leading shining example for your children, and you choose a career protestor, you might just as well adopt Justin Trudeau and make him the Hereditary Chief, considering the rules the Wet’suwet’en Five now follow, it would be perfectly legitimate.

Its now clear anyone can become a Herditary Chief, the only problem is for those eligible and legitimate, their chances seem to have been squandered. Below is what the Wet’suwet’en submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada, in regards to how the successor of a Herditary Chief is chosen.

I will leave it to you to decide if or not Molly qualifies as a Herditary Chief .
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The time is now for the “Progressive Wet’suwet’en” to take over, and replace what looks to be too corrupt to be worth saving. Its time to retire the office of Wet’suwet’en.

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