Kinder Morgan protest: RCMP help tend sacred fire

A First Nations elder has been defying Kinder Morgans injunction barring protesters from its worksite on Burnaby Mountain, in order to maintain a sacred fire.

Sut-Lut, from the Squamish nation, has been tending the fire with help from family, friends and the RCMP.

In my culture when theres a problem we gather the people around the fire. We feed everybody and the earth is alive, said Sut-Lut.

And its connecting all peoples, because we get to talk there.

To get to and from the fire, she has to cross the police tape that separates Kinder Morgan workers from protesters. Most people who cross that barrier are arrested immediately.

RCMP officers have been working in collaboration with Sut-Lut to ensure she can continue to keep the fire going. They escort her in every morning and escort her back out in the evening when she returns home to care for her family.

Officers have also helped her by setting up temporary structures to keep her dry, offering food and even chopping wood.

Theyve helped us stay dry, try and stay warm, and Im so appreciative of them, said Sut-lut.

Const. Ben Smith works with the Aboriginal Policing Services unit at the RCMP. Hes been acting as one of the liaisons between Sut-Lut and the public, facilitating Sut-Lut's invitation to have two protesters join her each day at the fire.

The relationship that weve experienced is great, Smith said.

The partnership and the relationship that weve formed and bonded together has paid off. Theres nothing but peace going on here.

Smith said officers have seen protesters enter the injunction perimeter angry but leave with a sense of calm.

Sut-Luts message to those people has been about peace, said Smith.

We support that and were very very happy to work with her and her nation.

Sut-Luts brother has also been working behind the police tape. He is carving two totem poles that will be donated to the residents of Burnaby with help from Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal men.

Despite the rain, the mud and the cold, Sut-Lut is staying put.

I will be here every day until God, Creator-willing, we win this thing, she says.