Wetʼsuwetʼen land defenders are being criminally prosecuted just for defending their lands. Now they are fighting for its very survival, and the survival of our planet during a global climate crisis. Sign the petition and help them protect their land.
The Indigenous Wet’suwet’en Nation have lived on and cared for their ancestral lands for generations, sustaining their culture and raising their children. As Sleydo ’ Molly Wickham, a Wet’suwet’en land defender says: “Our medicines, our berries, our food, the animals, our water, our culture, are all here since time immemorial”.
This long-standing way of life is under threat. Despite the Nation having the right to decide what development happens on their lands, a company called Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd (CGL) began constructing a fossil fuel pipeline through their territory, without the consent of the Hereditary Chiefs and their clans.
Wet’suwet’en land defenders and their allies knew they had to fight back. They began taking actions to protect Wet’suwet’en territory; however, CGL obtained an injunction to prevent interference with pipeline construction. The land defenders’ peaceful actions have been met with appalling violence and criminalization. The police have conducted raids on Wet’suwet’en territory with semi-automatic weapons. Over 75 land defenders have been arrested.
In 2022, criminal charges were pressed against Sleydo’ and 19 other land defenders . In 2024, Sleydo’, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jayochee Jocko were found guilty of “criminal contempt” for disobeying the injunction order, despite the fact that they were peacefully defending Wet’suwet’en territory. The three land defenders have made an application to the court stating that their human rights were violated by police during the raids. Their futures depend on the outcome of this application. If unsuccessful, they face time in prison.
Sleydo’ and others are not just defending Wet’suwet’en land, they’re protecting everyone’s right to a healthy environment by opposing another harmful fossil fuel project, and they need our support.
Sign the petition and demand that the Canadian authorities stop criminalizing Wet’suwet’en land defenders and their allies now.