PORTFOLIO

Abstract:

Since the colonization of the North American continent, Indigenous people have fought a constant battle to retain their rights and ownership of their hereditary land. In British Columbia, Canada, many of the Indigenous nations never signed treaties or made deals with the government concerning ownership of the land.

The We'tsuwet'en First Nation have lived in northern BC for over 14000 years and maintain that their land was never ceded to the Canadian government. In 2010 Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs expressed their opposition of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline (CGL) which would be build within Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. Over the decade there were repeated blockades and protests to disrupt the GCL project. In spring 2020 the RCMP violently enforced a second court injunction, removing the Wetʼsuwetʼen blockades and arresting Wetʼsuwetʼen land defenders.

In response, Canadians all across the country took part in solidarity and civil disobedience protests in objection to the CGL Project and the government's treatment of Indigenous people. These events sparked discussion and public discourse of topics including Indigenous land rights, colonial violence, missing and murdered Indigenous women, police brutality and actions, land conservation, and the environmental impact of energy projects.

Presented here are a series of storymaps providing a spatial narratives of the 2020 CGL protests.

Project Results: