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Death by a thousand cuts: a comic

A story of hope and resilience from the Dane-zaa people living in what is now known as northeastern British Columbia

The last 50 years have seen the traditional territory of the Dane-zaa, now the homeland of the modern Blueberry River and Doig River First Nations, transformed beyond recognition.

By 2016 more than 110,000 kilometres of roads, pipelines and transmission and seismic lines had been cut across 40,000 square kilometres of land. The collective sum of this environmental devastation has been likened to a “death by a thousand cuts.”

Blueberry River Traditional Territory

The traditional territory of the Blueberry River First Nations overlaps with the Montney formation, one of the largest deposits of natural gas on the planet. Illustration: Carol Linnitt / The Narwhal

Out of desperation, Blueberry River continues to seek protection for the last few intact wilderness areas in court, claiming that their treaty with Canada, signed in 1900 in reaction to the depredations of the Klondike gold rush, has been breached.

The following nonfiction comic was more than a year in the making, and is published now as a court case brought by Blueberry River continues to wind through B.C. Supreme Court with a potentially precedent-setting decision coming in 2020.

Special thanks to the Uncharted Journalism Fund, Robin Ridington and Jeffrey Ellis. Written by Blueberry River First Nations and Christopher Pollon. Pencils by Daniel Lafrance. Inks by Kelly Chen. Production by Carol Linnitt and The Narwhal.

Blueberry River First NationBlueberry River First NationBlueberry River First NationBlueberry River First NationBlueberry River First Nation

Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?
Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?

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