Victoria Leistman, Dirty Fuels organizer
Last month, on cold and blustery Seattle morning, we served pancakes to over 250 people in just two hours.
The event, “Pancakes over Pipelines” was our latest fundraiser for Pull Together in Washington state and despite the weather, it was a huge hit in the community, turning out both seasoned and new activists alike! Thanks to everyone’s efforts the proceeds went to support First Nations in their appeal of Canada’s reapproval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project.
We’re standing with our First Nations partners because the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is ecologically destructive and dangerous. If built, the project would increase tanker traffic in shared British Columbia/Washington waters by 700 percent. At 890,000 barrels a day, it would triple the amount of oil currently transported and would be bigger than both Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipeline.
First Nations on both sides of the colonial border have committed to stopping this pipeline in the courts; The Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, Coldwater and Squamish First Nations have all filed lawsuits and now appeals. In 2017, we joined Raven Trust and Sierra Club BC to stand with them and build a legal defense fund to support their legal challenges. The Pull Together campaign is a tangible way individuals, communities, and businesses can provide financial support to First Nations legal cases and show moral support to everyone on the front lines against this project.
Our latest fundraiser, “Pancakes Over Pipelines” started with a welcome by Cecile Hansen, Chair of the Duwamish Tribe, and speakers included Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh (who received a standing ovation), his daughter Kayah George, and Paul Wagner with Protectors of the Salish Sea.
Our emcee was Hogan, a Sierra Club volunteer leader and 350Seattle organizer who did an incredible job. She also secured beautiful, fancy fabrics that we used as tablecloths to give the morning an extra special feel. Local businesses donated coffee, pancakes supplies, and speaker gifts.
Folks were able to pile their pancakes with fun toppings, sign up to host a Pull Together event in their own community, and buy a “People Over Pipelines” T-shirt. We raised around 20K Canadian and almost all donations were matched by an anonymous donor in BC, putting our event at +35K.
Huge thanks to our partners at Pull Together, 350Seattle, WA Environmental Council, Protectors of the Salish Sea & Mosquito Fleet for helping to organize and support this amazing event!
Next up: we’ll likely be supporting First Nations with a WA contingent as they head into hearings the week of Dec. 16th!