Steve MacLellan

The RCMP is pushing back against the report in the U.K.-based Guardian newspaper, which alleges to have gotten the information from documents the police force claims it hasn’t seen and argues may have been taken out of context.

In a statement released Friday soon after the Guardian article was published, Gidimt’en checkpoint spokesperson Molly Wickham said the details in the report “reveal the reality of the relationship between Indigenous peoples protecting our lands and the RCMP.”

“With terminology like ‘lethal overwatch,’ ‘sterilize the site,’ and the threat of child welfare removing our children from their homes and territory, we see the extent to which the provincial and federal governments are willing to advance the destruction of our lands and families for profit,” Wickham said.

“We want to live free on our lands, without the constant threat of violence by [RCMP] who are illegally occupying Gidimt’en territory.”