If shale gas extraction goes ahead, it will be a boon to New Brunswicks struggling economy. The province anticipates it could generate over a thousand jobs and 1. 5 billion dollars, staunching the exodus of workers west to albertas oil sands. To have that kind of revenue inflow and that kind of potential, it would have a dramatic impact on the province. In fact, on the studies we looked at just a few weeks ago indicates that Shale Gas Development could actually double the Economic Growth rates in the province. Three years later these were the images from New Brunswick flashing across Canadian Television screens. Royal Canadian Mounted Police guns trained on First Nations people, police cars sent up in flames. We seized a number of firearms from the encampments at the protest site. We also found explosive devices, a large amount of ammunition, knives, and bear spray. Several shots were fired from within the encampment. Molotov style explosives were thrown at police, and six rcmp vehicles were destroyed by fire. Fault lines has traveled to the province of New Brunswick on canadas east coast to find out what went wrong, and ask how it could be set right. When southwesterns subsidiary, swn resources canada, or swin, as its locally known, began exploring on land by the elsipogtog first nation, the community started hearing about fracking, the process by which gas is extracted from shale rock beneath the ground by injecting water, nitrogen and chemicals. Many were alarmed. Without no consultation and people not knowing whats going on and just hearing that we know that shale gas is not good for the land and water, the protests started. Its been going on for three years now. The water or river was very, very precious to us, as we were growing up. Summertime wed be staying there all summer. When i was a kid, i got to go swimming in the fresh water. Now that i have my own kid, i want him to experience the same thing i experienced. I want my grandkids to experience that too. I dont want to have them have to worry about oh, well this water is contaminated because theyre drilling fifty feet away. In early summer, as swn carried out seismic testing near the reserve, members of the Mikmaq Community set out to stop them. They set up a protest camp, and drew the support of the local Acadian Community and of environmental groups. They scouted for signs of testing, and for the impact it might be having on the land and water they rely on, and consider sacred. See you dont want to waste all this beautiful land right here for that. And you know what fracking does, hey dont just drill one hole, they drill hundreds within the area. We started slowing down, slowing down swn. And then we talked to the people and the best way to gain support was we had to sacrifice so there were people that were willing to get arrested for the cause, for a good cause, save our water, stop fracking. More than 40 people were arrested. Then one day, 2 women chained themselves to a seismic testing truck, and exploration work ground to a halt. But the reprieve was only temporary. At summers end, swn returned. They made a compound in rexton, and then they put spotlights on it and then they put a gate on it and then it was as if it was their trophy and they put all these thumper trucks there, about 7,6,7 thumper trucks. Elsipogtog Community Members lit a sacred fire at the exit to the compound where swn was parking the trucks. The rcmp blocked the adjacent road, and a blockade went up. Swns vehicles were trapped. Another encampment grew and the Mikmaq Warrior Society was asked to secure it. Swn was losing 54 thousand dollars each day their vehicles remained on the lot guarded by private security. So they obtained a Court Injunction against the sites occupants, which the royal Canadian Mounted Police could enforce at any time. As the threat of Police Action loomed, tension on the site escalated. And on october 17, the day before the injunction was set to expire, the rcmp moved in. I dont know why they couldnt wait till the deadline. I dont understand and i cant speak for the rcmp. Drop that gun what gun . I had a cell phone in my hand and a flash light in my hand cause it was still dark out. Jason augustine is a district chief with the Mikmaq Warrior Society. He was on traffic duty that morning. And he told me again, drop that gun its not a gun and the next thing you know they had their guns drawn,they were already like that on me, they had their guns on me and everything. And thats when the chaos started. Suzanne patles was sleeping in the woods nearby. She did the first thing youd expect the defacto spokesperson for the Warrior Society to do, she logged on to facebook. Get your guns off me this is a phone. Hey this is a phone. I have no gun. I sent out a message and i said, everybodys always said to let them know when bleep gets real, and i said, how much more real can this get when theres guns drawn on you first thing in the morning when you wake up. Eight rcmps jumped me and they were bashing me with their boots until they knocked me out. It took a lot of shots to knock me out but i was hanked up and on the ground. Suzanne was in a car trying to upload a second video when the rcmp arrested her too. All i see was one officer like go to gesturing throw his Assault Rifle like towards the windshield and i went to put my head down like that and it went through the windshield and it hit the top of my head and at that moment i was pulled out of the car and hit several more times with the Assault Rifle in the head. As word got out that the raid was underway, people began arriving from the rez. Can you drink money . Can you drink money . You must have an awful lot of money to drink. The elected chief of Elsipogtog Aaron sock and eight of his Council Members tried to cross the line of rcmp to find out what was going on. Roger franciss sister was one of those councilors. I warned them specifically not to be grabbing our Council Members. And i told them ill use any force necessary i have to use to stop you guys. And when the rcmp grabbed my sister and yanked her, i just lost it. Francis was arrested, and charged with assaulting a police officer. A great grandmother, doris coupage also joined the crowd at the police line. We own north america. We are north American Indians whether you guys like it or not. On the sides, they were police dogs and police with ammunition. And the women here have their feathers. I went there with my rosaries and the other ladies were chanting and drumming. They were yelling move back move back so we didnt move. We linked arms and we stayed there. And we were pushing against them. And then all of a sudden pepper spray comes out of nowhere. And i looked back and i seen doris. She had gotten sprayed in the face. And all she had was a rosary. It didnt hit your at first but it did and then there was young bull standing and came over and grabbed me. Because i would have been knocked down like those cops when they push, push, push. The picture of a great grandmother peppersprayed by police had a profound effect on the people of elsipogtog. But it wouldnt be the only lasting image. And i just had this feather and i didnt know what to do. And the first thought in my mind was, pray. So i kneeled down in the road and i started praying. And i was praying for doris and for the other woman. And i was praying for my people, hoping this will end peacefully, hoping no one will get hurt. That nobody would die. A photo of that moment was taken by a reporter from Aboriginal Peoples television network. Rcmp vehicles were set ablaze. While Amanda Polchies was being arrested, the photo went viral. Why do you think people connected so much . Because its a struggle. You can see the struggle. Like if you look at the picture you have all of these rcmp officers and they can do so much and then theres a woman kneeling down in the road with a feather. Move back move back move back the state of the union on Al Jazeera America. Join us for complete coverage of the issues facing all of us from health care and immigration to the economy an national security. Were talking with those affected most. Understanding where we are, taking a critical look where were going. There is much progress to report. Immediately after stay with us as we get your reactions live from around the country and across the globe. Dont miss special state of the Union Coverage as only Al Jazeera America can deliver. Right here on Al Jazeera America. The congress to hopefully shed line on Immigration Reform as a path to citizenship. For the center of american progress, hes in washington d. C. This morning. And good morning, mr. Fietz. Good morning, del. Are you confident that this year Immigration Reform passes and are you sure why it pass its. Im confident that the president will be talking about the importance of find of bipartisan agreement with this congress, and this is obviously the issue that seems more teed up to have the senate has passed a bill by a bipartisan super majority and now its up to the house to pass it. And we know that the pass republican conference is meeting in a retreat this week, and one of the things they will be discussing is how to move forward on Immigration Reform. Consider this the news of the day plus so much more. We begin with the government shutdown. Answers to the questions no one else will ask. It seems like they cant agree to anything in washington no matter what. Antonio mora, Award Winning and hard hitting. Weve heard you talk about the history of suicide in your family. Theres no status quo, just the bottom line. But, what about buying shares in a professional athlete . Al Jazeera America gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. More on every screen. Digital, mobile, social. Visit aljazeera. Com. Follow ajam on twitter. And like alJazeera America on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. So you dont just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. Al Jazeera America. After the rcmp raid, the conflict continued to smolder. The premier of New Brunswick refused to back down on shale gas. Were not talking about a moratorium, today. What were talking about very much are the issues that took place yesterday. Chief sock was blunt about what he wanted. Basically for the rcmp to back off, swn to back off and give us some time to try to heal and reflect on what happened. This is the elsipogtog rcmp station. People have been telling me thereve been attempts to burn this station down the past few nights. Burn marks all along these rafters. Right under the singe marks theres a beer bottle. Its been turned into a molotov cocktail. It shows theres a lot of anger in the community against the rcmp. That anger was also turned on the media. Rebeccah what began as a peaceful day turned tense. When a few protesters forced a tv crew to abandon their satellite truck, and seized a reporters car and gear. When i asked if i could get my camera or gear they said it was theirs, that they were seizing it too. The group of protesters have seized his vehicle and camera. Isolated from a conversation about colonialism, news reports seemed to amplify old stereotypes. But it was the ecorioters themselves who used true violence. And some of the commentary was just plain out of touch. This oped in one of canadas National Newspapers calls the confrontation between the community here and the rcmp a rude dismissal of canadas generosity. Its this kind of media sentiment which is very common in canada that makes Indigenous People skeptical that the rest of the country is willing to take their arguments seriously. For more than a century, the indian act has denied economic opportunity, the nation to nation relationship set out in many treaties has been ignored, and until 1996, the governmentfunded Residential School system set out to kill the indian in the child. In the past, Indigenous People in canada have not shared equally in the benefits of Resource Development in their homelands. The Unemployment Rate on the elsipogtog first nation is estimated at 80 percent. Now they fear the next phase of development will damage the lifeblood of their culture, water. So right now, whats happening is idle no more. The First Nations people are saying, weve had enough. Our young generation is getting educated. So now were starting to say hey, this is wrong. Youre treating us wrong. When now they want to take the water and the land, were saying no way. This is enough. As round dances and drum circles swept across canada last winter, a movement was born, taking its name from a twitter hash tag idle no more. And it was catalyzed by opposition to a law that has removed federal protection for many of the countrys waterways. It reawakened a lot of people and a lot of people were uprising and the most important thing that brought everyone together was the water. That was the one thing reverberated all across the country that we needed to ensure the waters protection. It was the spirit of idle no more, and the social networks it created, that emboldened elsipogtogs resistance to swns exploration work, and caused people to come out to face down the rcmp. It was scary that day. So you have all these grandchildren, why wouldnt you just stay back, why would you decide to go . You dont even think about that. The women are the protectors of the water, arent they . Thats what happens when stuff like this happens with Companies Like swn resources a Company Based in the us coming down to make money in canada, not consulting with First Nations in the first place, you know . Its gone too far. It scared me but i didnt want to run away because i dont want them here. Why not . I dont want swn here and i felt that making a stand was the only thing that was left. Because nobody was listening. Why do you think it always comes down to a confrontation like that between police and Indigenous People . Being native in canada, like i said, its like youre a second class citizen. And things are not going to change unless the government of canada recognizes our First Nations rights and who we are. We cant just be bullied over anymore. Being bullied, not being listened to, heres a Legal Standard grounded in the canadian constitution thats supposed to avoid these issues. When mining and Energy Companies want to carry out activity that stands to compromise an aboriginal or treaty right, like, for example, access to water or land, he crown has a duty to consult the First Nations affected in proportion and to the extent that they will be impacted by the development. This is the New Brunswick legislature, where the premier and the members of the legislature sit. In this part of canada, for practical purposes, this is the crown. There was no consultation before the government awarded swn licenses to explore 3 years ago. But since the deal was done, they say theyve done more than required. Weve had ongoing dialogue with chief and council a lot of the consultation that has been taking place has been talking about that framework of if there is something there, where do we go in terms of those discussions on how to move forward with it. Very little actually gets discussed about the actual seismic work because everybody recognizes that there is no impact to environment, land use, or treaty rights from that. Do you feel that the province has fulfilled its duty to consult . Nope. I dont. But the duty to consult is not explicitly defined in law, instead it has been shaped and tested by court challenges. And it does not give First Nations the right to veto projects. So one of the contentious parts of the duty to consult is what happens when some members of a Community Like elsipogtog say no, at any price. Its a challenge to get to that next stage where you really want to talk about what the potentials for economic benefits are, if you dont know what the resource actually is and what the total pie looks like and whos going to get the different pieces of that pie. In his first year as chief, sock participated in the consultation process as part of an Umbrella Group of New Brunswick chiefs that organized information sessions about swns work, and sought to negotiate a revenue sharing agreement with the government. But after a summer of protest, he and his council withdrew. Being a new a chief i dont quite understand yet how this came to be, but what i do understand is my community doesnt want it. And if thats what they want me to fight for, thats what im going to fight. Every sunday night, Al Jazeera America pres