Both Rafe Mair and Damien Gillis of The Common Sense Canadian were on hand in Prince Rupert this past weekend to witness and take part in a historic gathering to protest Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline and associated Tar Sands supertankers on BC’s rugged coast. Mair was the evening’s key-note speaker, while Gillis discussed the role of citizen media, arts and culture in the battle against Enbridge.

Gillis also captured the day-long event on camera – as well as interviews with First Nations leaders, local citizens and politicians – and will be unveiling a series of video clips from the event over the coming weeks at TheCanadian.org.

The day began with a series of welcoming speeches at Pacific Mariners’ Park from the local Tsimshian Nation and the Gitga’at Nation of Hartley Bay – the festivities’ main organizers. From there, a crowd later estimated by the RCMP to be approaching 2,000, marched to the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre, where the remainder of the event unfolded until to the late evening. The police facilitated the march by blocking Highway 16 – the first time they have ever done so for a planned event.

Guests were welcomed by Prince Rupert Mayor Jack Mussallem and local NDP MLA Gary Coons – both reiterated their support for the First Nations opposition to the Enbridge project.

The diverse crowd heard from a number of First Nations leaders and elders – including a group representing the Gitxsan First Nation, who apologized for the actions of its rogue treaty team that signed a since-invalidated deal with Enbridge this past December.

The day was full of music and cultural highlights too, including the Hartley Bay drummers and dancers, young First Nations singer Ta’Kaiya Blaney, and a number of guest performers, including popular BC singer Bif Naked.

Watch for more articles and video highlights on the historic weekend at TheCanadian.org.