In photos: inside the Gidimt’en eviction of Coastal GasLink
Almost two years after Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs issued an eviction order to the pipeline company, land defenders are now enforcing it along a remote forest service road
A supporter uses a flare to mark a road closure in Gidimt'en territory near Houston, B.C., on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. Hereditary chiefs served a mandatory evacuation order for all Coastal GasLink workers and sub-contractors, which the company ignored.
Photo: Amber Bracken / The Narwhal
This article is more than 3 years old
On Sunday, Nov. 14, pipeline company Coastal GasLink was given eight hours to immediately evacuate Gidimt’en clan territory near Houston, B.C. Hereditary chiefs served the mandatory order for all company workers and sub-contractors.
Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Dinï ze’ (Chief) Woos, Frank Alec, granted a two hour extension to the evacuation timeline, but of the estimated 500 individuals housed at Coastal GasLink’s two remote work camps, only a handful left. Since then, land defenders seized a Coastal GasLink excavator and bulldozer and used them to dismantle parts of the Morice Forest Service Road, the main point of access to project sites and work camps.
The Gidimt’en clan and supporters have occupied a Coastal GasLink drill site near the Wedzin Kwa, or Morice River, to prevent drilling under the glacial river, since Sept. 25, 2021.
Gidimt’en camp spokesperson Sleydo’ Molly Wickham said inaction from B.C. and the federal government and failure to address and resolve Right and Title claims forced land defenders to take matters into their own hands and enforce an eviction order originally issued on Jan. 4, 2020, by Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, who oppose construction of the 670-kilometre pipeline.
“We were sending a clear message to the province, to Canada, and they weren’t acting on it — they weren’t hearing what we were saying — so we had to get a little bit louder,” Wickham told The Narwhal in an interview. “They’re destroying absolutely everything that is important to us in our territory. And they have been continuing to do work, despite the eviction order last year.”
Opposition to any pipeline’s construction has been strong from the Wet’suwet’en and their supporters for well over a decade. In December of 2019, a court issued an injunction against blockaders, giving RCMP officers authorization to make dozens of arrests last year, when land defenders blockaded the road and prevented work by the pipeline company and contractors.
Supporters stand guard to secure a road closure along the Morice Forest Service Road at kilometre 39 in Gidimt’en territory on Sunday, Nov. 14. Up until the road closure, the service road was a major thoroughfare for the pipeline project. The people who keep watch at Gidimt’en camp logged a convoy of six heavy trucks running through the road twice each day, carrying supplies, as well as a convoy of seven semi-trailer trucks carrying pipe each morning around 7 a.m. These individuals estimate hundreds of pickup trucks also travel the road each day carrying workers, security and police patrols.
Sleydo’ Molly Wickham greets supporters after they enforced the road closure. Wickham said she was happy to hear of Gitxsan solidarity actions taking place that included the temporarily closure of a rail line in New Hazelton.
Supporters stand under a tarp to mask their numbers from a helicopter suspected of carrying out surveillance. An RCMP spokesperson told The Narwhal “The RCMP is aware of the protest actions and we have, and will continue to have, a police presence in the area conducting roving patrols.”
Mohawk supporter Aktsi’io (centre) sings a song while Indigenous musician Logan Staats, from the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, looks on. “They think we are angry and hating but it’s not about that, it’s about burying the hatchet and moving to a place of respect and honour,” Aktsi’io said.
Haudenosaunee supporters, left to right, Logan Staats, Teka’tsihasere (Corey Jocko), who also goes by the artist name Jayohcee, and Skyler Williams ride a seized Coastal GasLink excavator as they work to close the service road.The Haudenosaunee have been allies for the Wet’suwet’en since the 2020 enforcement action, and contributed to the #shutdowncanada movement those arrests sparked. This year, Mohawk supporters have walked police out of Coyote camp twice.
Teka’tsihasere (Corey Jocko) whoops and issues a war call in response to a Coastal GasLink security worker reading a statement from the company. “We’re here from the Coastal GasLink project,” the worker read. “We are here to conduct work on behalf of the Coast GasLink project and you are impeding us. Can you please move your blockade out of the area?”Supporters burned the copy of the injunction Coastal GasLink workers delivered to the blockade.Coastal GasLink pipeline’s right of way cutting through Gidimt’en territory. The 670-kilometre gas pipeline crosses over 190 kilometres of relatively intact Wet’suwet’en territory.Haudenosaunee supporters Skyler Williams, back, and Aktsi’io look on as trees are felled along the service road.A Coastal GasLink worker leaves Gidimt’en territory in the early morning of Nov. 14.Freezing breath is caught in a flashlight beam used to help signal to oncoming drivers that there are obstructions on the road while land defenders and their supporters stand guard.Haudenosaunee supporters help to maintain the road closure.
Jocko helps enforce the road closure.
A supporter uses a flare to mark the road closure.
Supporters escort a Coastal GasLink vehicle off of Gidimt’en territory.
Staats smudges himself after helping to enforce the road closure.An excavator is hung with red dresses to signify the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls at Coyote camp.
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A supporter uses a flare to mark a road closure in Gidimt'en territory near Houston, B.C., on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. Hereditary chiefs served a mandatory evacuation order for all Coastal GasLink workers and sub-contractors, which the company ignored.
Photo: Amber Bracken / The Narwhal
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.”
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.”
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With headlines blaring about tariffs, a trade war and a 51st state, it can be easy to feel helpless. Here’s where I see hope: The Narwhal is reporting doggedly on issues surrounding the natural world in Canada that feel so under threat today — including the autonomy and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples. It’s why I’m a member — and why I hope you’ll be one of 400 readers who joins me this April. Sign up now and receive a Narwhal tote bag as a gift of thanks! — Tanya Talaga, journalist, author and recent Narwhal board chair
With headlines blaring about tariffs, a trade war and a 51st state, it can be easy to feel helpless. Here’s where I see hope: The Narwhal is reporting doggedly on issues surrounding the natural world in Canada that feel so under threat today — including the autonomy and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples. It’s why I’m a member — and why I hope you’ll be one of 400 readers who joins me this April. — Tanya Talaga, journalist, author and recent Narwhal board chair
