live webinar
Stories from the frontlines of the Wet’suwet’en Resistance
may 5, 2020 | 18:00 CDT
In February and March of this year, Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) sent two teams of legal observers to unceded Wet’suwet’en territory in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada. With no consent from the hereditary leadership of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have maintained a militarized occupation of their lands in order to enable ongoing construction of a fracked gas pipeline – even during the current pandemic! Join Jennifer Wickham from the Gidim’ten clan and CPTers as they share stories from the frontlines of the Wet’suwet’en resistance.
Read Natalie Maxson’s reflection from her time in Wet’suwet’en territory.
speakers
JENNIFER WICKHAM
Jennifer grew up in and around Wet’suwet’en territory, being displaced, but returning to the community with a dedication to learning and participating in the governance system since 2006. Her background is in writing and Indigenous resurgence, with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria.
EMILY GREEN
Emily is a queer, Jewish catlady with a penchant for wearing exuberant colours. She is a grad student, community organizer, and bartender living in Toronto (traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinabe, and Wendat peoples). Emily was an intern with the CPT Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Team in 2012, and has been a CPT reservist since 2019.
NATALIE MAXSON
Natalie Maxson is a reservist with CPT, having trained in 2017 and previously served on the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Team as Program Support Coordinator. She lives in unceded Syilx, Okanagan Nation, territory. Natalie is an educator, author and activist.
STEVE HEINRICHS
Steve lives in Treaty 1 Territory, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, along with his spouse Ann and their three children, Abby, Aiden, and Isabelle. He is the Director of Indigenous-Setter Relations at Mennonite Church Canada and the current Vice-Chair of CPT’s Steering Committee. He recently spent two weeks as a legal observer in Gidimt’en territory of the Wet’suwet’en Nation near Houston, BC.
CHUCK WRIGHT
Chuck is a reservist with CPT and a settler educator living in the occupied, ancestral territory of the Coast Salish Peoples in Vancouver – the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Earlier this year, he served as a legal observer in Gidimt’en territory of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. He previously served four years on the CPT Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Team.
