MARCH 28, 2011 3:02 PM
This one could go viral.
In this video a 10-year-old member of the Sliammon First Nation in British
Columbia, Ta’Kaiya Blaney sings a haunting and beautiful song that could
be one of the strongest weapons in the arsenal for those opposed to plans
for west coast oil tanker traffic.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LkjIkuC_eWM
She wanted to sing a song of protest to Enbridge officials recently but
was stopped by security guards who said they had “locked down” parts of
the energy company’s building. “I wanted to sing my song and I didn’t
think I was scary,” said Ta’Kaiya Blaney, who had a rehearsed talk on
coloured cards and a video of her song.
The company, which has proposed twin pipelines and oil tanker traffic
along the B.C. coast, said it had no one available to meet Ta’Kaiya.
Ta’Kaiya, is home-schooled in North Vancouver by her mother, who
accompanied her daughter to the building in Vancouver Thursday.
Ta’Kaiya said she did a lot of research for her environmental issues unit.
“It’s true that the oil pipelines and the tankers will give people jobs,
but if there is an oil spill like the Exxon Valdez or the Gulf of Mexico,
that will take other people’s jobs and wildlife will die,” said Ta’Kaiya.
“This is the 22nd anniversary of the Exxon Valdez and there is still oil
in the water that can’t ever be cleaned up.”
Ta’Kaiya’s message and song, which she co-wrote, was emailed by Greenpeace
to all provincial and federal politicians. Greenpeace B.C. director
Stephanie Goodwin called Enbridge “contradictory.” “They say they want
public input, but won’t even hear the concerns of a 10-year-old First
Nations girl who presented her views respectfully.”
After Ta’Kaiya and her mother were sent out to the sidewalk, B.C. Premier
Christy Clark sent the girl an email, saying she had “watched your YouTube
video and commend you for your talent. Your message is very clear — we
must be concerned about the environment.”
Enbridge spokesman Paul Stanway said the company had no one available to
greet Ta’Kaiya, but “will be responding” to her letter.
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/year+girl+offers+song+anti+tanker+sentiment+video/4517316/story.html?cid=megadrop_story
Special thanks to Richard Charter