The Shubenacadie River Beading Project, 2018-2019
The Shubenacadie River cuts through the middle of Nova Scotia; running from the Minas Basin to downtown Dartmouth. Once used by the Mi’kmaq to traverse the territory for trade and fishing, the government state and Alton Gas are now threatening the rivers system and fragile life. Alton Gas proposes to install two salt caverns, which could amount to as many as fifteen, that will store natural gas. This project is in direct violation of the Peace and Friendship Treaty agreements that still govern the lands of the Mi’kmaq, infringing on their inherit right to fish and maintain their lifestyle. These caverns will create huge quantities of salt brine that will be disposed of by dumping it into the Shubenacadie River causing irreversible environmental damage to the rivers ecosystem.
The Shubenacadie River Beading Project is an activist/community project, beaded in the company and with guidance from the water protectors of the Stop Alton Gas group, their allies, and other members of the community. This community-based project stands in solidarity with water protectors and the Stop Alton Gas group; who actively occupied space along the Shubenacadie River, for years, to protect and protest the destruction of the rivers’ ecosystem by the environmental threat Alton Gas posed. The beading project is an honouring of the river space and the rivers’ life system. Many hands join together and bead the space of the river, culminating in a ten-meter beading of the Shubenacadie River. The intention is for participants, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to come together and collectively honour the space of the Shubenacadie River. This is an exercise in building treaty relations between settler and Indigenous nations, and humans to mother earth. Group activities, such as this, foster storytelling, sharing, engagement, and collective making activating Indigenous research methodologies. This approach is designed to assist with Stop Alton Gas group’s purpose in bringing awareness to the cause through a group shared activity.
In April 2019 the river pieces were auctioned off to raise funds for Stop Alton Gas’ legal funds with the specific request coming from the community to do so.
Photo Credit: Séamus Gallagher
