Stolen timber recovered
Timber stolen from the Nuxalk nation (an indigenous people from the north-west coast of Canada) was recovered from a UK timber yard on April 9. The timber has been handed to police, who have been asked to prosecute the yard for handling stolen property.
The Nuxalk have never sold or ceded their lands, signed them away by treaty or lost them in battle.
Some 40 activists from Forest Action Network UK climbed the roof of the storage sheds of International Timber in Manchester with banners saying "Stop buying stolen timber" and "Interfor and Mac-Bio: timber thieves", while other activists reclaimed some 15 planks of western red cedar. Four Nuxalk people witnessed the liberation of their property.
The timber, shipped by Interfor and MacMillan Bloedel, two companies which clear-fell on Nuxalk lands, was carried to the local police station. After an hour of negotiation, chief inspector Kirby finally issued a receipt for the timber, but he refused to talk to the Nuxalk people. The protesters are insisting that International Timber, its parent company Meyer International, and all other companies handling timber from the Canadian rainforest should be prevented from selling any more until the legal ownership of the timber has been dealt with.
[From Native Forest Network-ENA. Email: nfnena@igc.apc.org.]