The Indigenous Resource Network (IRN) has called on Hollywood celebrities to stop dictating to indigenous people what they should do with natural resource development. .“We are sovereign nations, many of our people have struggled to get where they are now,” said IRN Executive Director Robert Merasty in a Monday press release. .“The rhetoric coming from Hollywood celebrities threatens that progress.” .Merasty said self-determination means allowing indigenous communities to pursue their own projects. He said a community should have “the right to pursue developing their natural resources.” .Merasty said indigenous leaders are given direction after consulting with community knowledge keepers and citizens. He added each community “has decided as to what is in their best interest.” .Wealthy Hollywood actors come from a place of privilege. He said these celebrities do not have to worry about where they're going to sleep or if they will be able to afford their next meal, which are issues select indigenous people face. .“Hollywood actors must first listen to the community before speaking out,” he said. .Dozens of celebrities signed a petition calling on the Royal Bank of Canada to stop funding the Coastal GasLink Pipeline in northern British Columbia in March. .The campaign asked RBC to withdraw its financial support from Coastal GasLink. It appears to have been signed by celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Amy Schumer. ."The Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs never consented to this pipeline being constructed through their territories, which would risk the sacred headwaters of Wedzin Kwa River," said the group.
