Three Indigenous land defenders were sentenced for defending their territory in 'British Columbia'

You know it's bad when Amnesty International is writing about Canada's treatment of people living within its borders #shame

Oct 20, 2025

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1️⃣ What Happened

Last week, a B.C. judge handed down suspended jail sentences to three Indigenous land defenders: Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham), a Wing Chief of the Gidimt’en Clan; Shaylynn Sampson, Gitxsan with Wet’suwet’en family; and Corey Jocko, Kanien’kehá:ka from Akwesasne. Their crime? Blocking access to Coastal GasLink pipeline construction on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory in 2021.

The sentences—17, 12, and 9 days respectively—were suspended in favour of community service. Translation: they walk free unless re-arrested within a year. But the fact that jail time was on the table at all? That’s the point.

These aren’t protesters. They’re people exercising jurisdiction over their own homelands under Wet’suwet’en law—law that predates Canada by thousands of years and was affirmed by Canada’s own Supreme Court in the 1997 Delgamuukw decision.

But when corporate profit meets Indigenous sovereignty, guess which one our country protects?

This didn’t start last week—it’s been building for years

In November 2021, militarized RCMP conducted a massive raid on Wet’suwet’en territory, arresting over 75 people defending the land from pipeline construction. The arrests were brutal. The B.C. Supreme Court later ruled that RCMP members violated the defenders’ Charter rights during the raid—including through racist statements and violent treatment.

And yet, the charges stuck. The convictions stood. The sentences came down.

Because in Canada, acknowledging rights violations doesn’t mean stopping the harm. It just means admitting it happened while doing it again.

The system working exactly as designed

Here’s what most coverage won’t tell you: Coastal GasLink got approval by signing benefit agreements with over twenty elected band councils along the pipeline route. Corporate media and government officials call this “consent.”

But band councils only govern reserve lands—a colonial construct designed to undermine traditional governance systems. The hereditary chiefs, who hold jurisdiction over the broader territory under Wet’suwet’en law, have consistently opposed the pipeline. Their authority was recognized by Canadian courts nearly three decades ago.

So when Canada claims the pipeline has Indigenous consent, what they mean is: we got signatures from the governance structure we created and imposed, while ignoring the one that actually has authority here.

It’s a legal fiction that allows extraction to proceed under the banner of reconciliation.

And it’s getting worse

This isn’t just about one pipeline or three land defenders. It’s a pattern that has been playing out across the country since white colonizers claimed to have ‘found’ it—and it’s accelerating.

Bill C-5 (the “One Canadian Economy Act”) now allows the federal Cabinet to designate projects as being in the “national interest” and fast-track approvals with minimal Indigenous consultation. The government is framing this as a response to U.S. tariffs and trade pressure.

Kenneth Atsenhaienton Deer, Chief Administrative Officer at the Indigenous World Association, put it plainly: “Tariff war is just another excuse to run over the rights of Indigenous people.”

At the provincial level, the same thing is unfolding:

Ontario’s Bill 5 lets Doug Ford’s government fast-track mines, ports, and pipelines while overriding local rules—including consultation requirements. Grassy Narrows First Nation is suing Ontario over the Mining Act, which allows thousands of mineral claims on their territory without consent. Six other First Nations are pursuing similar cases over Ontario’s Ring of Fire mining expansion.
B.C.’s Bill 15 clears the way for industrial projects without full environmental review—again, on Indigenous land, without Indigenous consent.
Quebec’s Bill 97 prioritizes logging companies. Indigenous communities in Northern Quebec have been blocking forestry sites for over two months in opposition.
Nova Scotia’s Bill 6 passed legislation allowing police to remove Mi’kmaw land protectors from Crown lands. Mi’kmaw communities have pledged to “stand their ground.”
Alberta is pushing oil infrastructure under Danielle Smith’s government while ignoring Treaty rights. Chiefs from Tsuut’ina, Ermineskin Cree, and other nations have called any attempt at provincial sovereignty over treaty land “illegal.”

Every province. Every level of government. Same playbook.

2️⃣ Why You Should Care

There’s no climate justice without Indigenous sovereignty

Indigenous peoples manage about one quarter of Earth’s land—including over half of the planet’s intact forests. Deforestation rates are consistently lower on Indigenous-managed territories than in state-run parks or corporate concessions. These lands absorb billions of tons of carbon annually and shelter roughly 60 percent of all terrestrial mammals.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change calls Indigenous stewardship “essential to a liveable, climate-resilient future.” Even Canada’s own Indigenous Climate Leadership Agenda admits Indigenous-led governance is the most effective path to emissions reduction and ecosystem repair.

Wet’suwet’en land defenders aren’t just protecting their territory—they’re protecting Wedzin Kwa, one of the last intact watersheds in B.C. When Canada criminalizes land defence while fast-tracking extraction through bills like C-5 and Bill 15, it’s actively dismantling the climate solutions that actually work.

Eriel Deranger of Indigenous Climate Action says it plainly: the climate crisis is “the status quo of colonialism and capitalism.” There’s no way around it—climate justice requires Indigenous sovereignty.

What this reveals about power in Canada

Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Na’Moks said it clearly: “In our law, the land defenders who were on trial would have been rewarded for their actions, but under Canadian law, they face punishment.”

That’s the contradiction Canada refuses to resolve. Politicians wear orange shirts on September 30th. They make land acknowledgements at events. They talk about reconciliation and nation-to-nation relationships.

But when Indigenous people actually exercise their sovereignty—when they say no to a pipeline, a mine, a clear-cut—they get arrested. Charged. Sentenced. Criminalized.

Amnesty International called this sentencing “a chilling message” about Canada’s relationship to Indigenous rights. They’re right. But it’s not new. It’s the same message Canada has been sending since contact: you can have symbolic recognition or you can have your land. Not both.

Wanda Gabriel of Kanehsatà:ke called the new legislation “a systemic continuation of a form of genocide.” She’s not being hyperbolic. Genocide isn’t just violence—it’s also the destruction of a people’s way of life, their governance, their relationship to land. That’s exactly what’s happening here.

How Canada treats Indigenous land defenders is how it can treat you

Here’s what too many non-Indigenous people miss: this isn’t about “their” problem. It’s about the blueprint.

The B.C Supreme Court admits the state violated someone’s Charter rights—and sentences them anyway—that’s not a bug. That’s the system showing you exactly how much your rights matter when they conflict with corporate profit.

The violence Canada permits against Indigenous peoples and the most marginalized is how the state tests what it can get away with before scaling it to the rest of us. When we don’t fight back, we’re not just abandoning them—we’re greenlight our own oppression. We’re saying this baseline is acceptable, and with that ‘approval’ the baseline will expand to include more and more of us.

First it’s land defenders blocking a pipeline. Then it’s protesters disrupting “critical infrastructure.” Then it’s anyone the state decides is in the way. The legal precedent is already set. The police powers are already granted. The criminalization playbook is already written.

If you think this can’t reach you because you’re not Indigenous, you’re not paying attention. Unless you’re in the one percent who profit from extraction, this is your problem too.

Because the government that backs corporate power over Wet’suwet’en sovereignty will back corporate power over your water, your air, your housing, your labour rights. The question isn’t if—it’s when you become inconvenient enough to matter.

3️⃣ What You Can Do

Support Wet’suwet’en land defenders directly:

Donate to the Gidimt’en Yintah Access Support Fund—funds go toward legal defense, housing, and rebuilding on the territory
Support the Unist’ot’en Healing Centre, which sustains trauma recovery and cultural revitalization rooted in Wet’suwet’en law
Follow @gidimten_checkpoint and Wet’suwet’en Strong for verified updates directly from land defenders

Take action on corporate complicity:

Join Stand.earth’s campaign demanding RBC and other banks defund Coastal GasLink
Host or attend a screening of Yintah, the documentary film about Wet’suwet’en resistance—find screening toolkits here

Learn what’s happening in your province:

Alberta: Treaty nations are fighting back against Danielle Smith’s sovereignty push. Read more at APTN
Ontario: Grassy Narrows and six other First Nations are suing over mining expansion. Follow the case at The Narwhal
Nova Scotia: Mi’kmaw land protectors are resisting new policing laws. Learn more at APTN

Pressure your representatives:

Call your MPs and MPPs. Demand they reject bills like C-5, Bill 5, and Bill 15 that override Indigenous rights and gut environmental protections.

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Sources:

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/federal-one-canadian-economy-legislation-is-a-power-grab/
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/canada-is-targeting-indigenous-rights-under-the-banner-of-the-u-s-trade-war/

Amnesty International (you know its bad when Amnesty is writing about your country)

https://amnesty.ca/human-rights-news/sentencing-wetsuweten-land-defenders-indigenous-rights-in-canada/

APTN

https://www.aptnnews.ca/topic/wetsuweten-conflict/
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/3-wetsuweten-land-defenders-given-suspended-sentences-over-opposing-pipeline/