Court Support for Sentencing: Uphold Land Defenders!

We are coming up to the final court date for Sleydo', Shay and Corey. Sentencing for their criminal contempt charges will be October 15-17, 2025 in Smithers, BC. 

Since winning the Abuse of Process application brought against the RCMP and proving they violated their Charter Rights, Judge Tammen stated it will be considered during their sentencing. Over the three days we anticipate that the Crown and Defence will make arguments for their positions and then a decision will be made. 

Considering the Abuse of Process win we are hopeful that our land defenders will avoid jail time and Tammen will determine they have served their time. The Crown is asking for 30 days in jail. The outcome will come down to Justice Tammen. 

We are asking for support for them regardless of the outcome. We want them to be able to rest and heal from this gruelling process that has taken one year and nine months! It has taken years to get to this place after the brave actions taken to uphold 'Anuk niwh'iten (Wet'suwet'en Law). We are preparing for the Crown to be ruthless in their arguments. Please give whatever you can and share this page so our three land defenders can rest and not worry about their housing and income afterwards. Should things not go our way we want to ensure their families and loved ones are taken care of, and if we have a favourable outcome we want them to have the resources to start their healing process from this prolonged battle with the colonial courts. 

Tabï misiyh everyone that has continued to show up and support during these difficult times, we ask for one more rally to put this behind us.

Decision for abuse of process application

On February 18th, 2025 Justice Michael Tammen read his decision on the application brought by Sleydo’, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jocko against the RCMP/CIRG after over a year in the colonial courts.

Tammen ruled that the RCMP/CIRG did breach our Charter Rights and abused the process of the courts. We had filed eight counts and while Tammen only legally confirmed two of the Charter Rights in his decision, one of them being he found that the racist comments about the handprints were "grossly offensive, racist, and dehumanizing" and undermine the integrity of the judicial process. This is a win. Although Tammen found that the warrantless entry into the tiny house and cabin breached the defendants' section 8 and section 9 rights, he found that the breach was minor because the arrests were "authorized and inevitable". He found that the removal and destruction of Sleydo's and Shay's cultural items caused great emotional distress but did not breach their section 15 rights but he would take the trauma they endured as result of this into account when he considers sentencing. We have asked for an alternate remedy of time served.

So while there are clear Charter violations we will still be proceeding to sentencing. We are disappointed that we are still being criminalized for upholding ‘anuk niwh’iten. However, as Sleydo’ states:

“The colonial courts are not where our ability to live out our laws and ways of life should be determined. And yet here we are, over 3 years later, in a show down between Wet’suwet’en law and colonial law after years of police violence and repression by the RCMP/CIRG with no accountability… We will never see justice from the courts for the amount of violence we have experienced over the last six years of repression by the state. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what Indigenous people have been experiencing and what we have experienced at the hands of the RCMP… My hope is that this decision will signal to the RCMP that they can no longer violate their own laws and act with impunity. Today I chose to celebrate the Yintah, for her resiliency throughout all the destruction and for continuing to provide for us and keeping us safe.”

We know that the RCMP have always been mandated to oppress and criminalize us. The state has always wanted secure access to our yintah since the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Delgamuukw-Gisdayway in 1997. Then they created the Community Industry Response Group (CIRG) in 2017 specifically to repress any land defence from extraction projects. They attempted to rebrand this as the Community Response Unit (CRU) after heavy criticism and a federal investigation in 2024. The corporate project of canada continues. We continue to uphold our responsibilities. As Corey states:

“We have seen this process in courts, out of courts, on the land, off reserve, we’ve seen in it books, documentaries, movies, every piece of knowledge that’s been carried and passed down through all these thousands of years these stories have been repeated. We’re in the position right now where we understood that, we know that and we did it for the right reasons so there is no reason to not feel proud of what we did. To stand here proud right now and to be relatives with the Wet’suwet’en, and to be Haudenosaunee out here it’s just an honour regardless of what they throw against us because we know we are doing it for the right reasons.”

We know we couldn’t have done this without all our allies and accomplices. There are so many beautiful relationships built in the last decade of protecting Wedzin Kwa and there is nothing that can be taken away from that. We know we are all stronger together. Our young Gitxsan relative has upheld an ancient alliance standing and fighting beside us, as well as many others. She reflects on the past fives years on the yintah:

“I believe in the fight for our territory and our land, in the celebration of the yintah and the lax’yip, and the unique relationship that our nations have […] We breathe life into our governance every day we are allowed to stand on our territory, and we bring our families there, that we can drink the water from Wedzin Kwa. I feel a lot of honour and am thankful for Sleydo’ and her family, for all of the hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en for all of their support and for my family that I have built here, that I was born with and that continues to support the work that we do […] We will see our land free and nourished again.”

We thank everyone for their support and statements of solidarity as we continue to fight for our sovereignty. S’necalyegh to everyone that has fought beside us with boots on the ground and feet in the street. We will always stand strong. We expect that it will be months before we see Judge Tammen again for sentencing. We will continue to walk in our ancestors footsteps. Awitza, misiyh.

📢 Community Call-Out from the Wet’suwet’en Divestment Team: Host a Screening of the documentary Yintah!

We’re excited to invite YOU to bring this powerful and inspirational documentary to your community however big or small! This film dives deep into over a decade long Wet’suwet’en resistance against the Coastal GasLink pipeline(CGL). Yintah is a must-see that sparks vital conversations and action!

On February 18th 2025, Sleydo’, Molly Wickham (Gidimt’en), Shaylynn Sampson (Gitxsan), Corey Jocko (Haudenosaunee) will hear colonial judge Tammen’s final decision in their Abuse of Process application against the RCMP/CIRG.

At the same time, Wet’suwet’en members and Hereditary Chiefs oppose and reject CGL's proposed phase 2, including the construction of massive compressor stations on the Yintah to double the pipeline’s capacity. Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders also stand in Solidarity with our neighbors from the Gitxsan nation, including the Gitanyow as they stand against Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project🔥To learn more from Land Defenders on the ground, join an upcoming webinar hosted by Change Course and Decolonial Solidarity February 24th 2025 7pm est/4pm pst. Link to register in the bio.

🎬 How to Get Involved:

Sign up to host a screening. We’ll help you with resources, including event materials and support.

Host a Screening: Gather your community, friends/family, or colleagues to watch and discuss the film together.

Raise Awareness: Share the message of the documentary and help amplify the voices of Indigenous communities.

Engage in Dialogue: After the screening, have an open conversation about the film's themes, lessons, and ways you can support Indigenous Land Defenders and their sovereignty.

Unite and stand in Solidarity with Indigenous Land Defenders and allies as they continue their fight.🌱 Yintah is more than just a film – it's an invitation to stand together and kick some colonial ass for Mother Earth and future generations.

🔗 find everything in our Toolkit!!