Join us for a special screening of award-winning documentary film YINTAH (https://www.yintahfilm.com/) (2024), followed by a panel discussion with Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders Eve Saint and Jocey Alec. There will also be an update from a Gitxsan Land Defender about their resistance to the Prince Rupert pipeline project.
YINTAH follows the story of two Wet’suwet’en women, Howilhkat Freda Huson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, through over a decade of exercising unceded Indigenous sovereignty against colonial land seizure for oil pipeline projects in so-called British Columbia, Canada. The post-screening panel discussion will be moderated by EcoGather community member Frieda McAlear (Inupiaq).
As this offering is much longer than our typical gatherings, we will be starting the panel discussion and Q&A portion at 5:30PM EST, following a brief break after the screening. If timing is a constraint, anyone is more than welcome to watch the film on their own time and join in for the discussion portion of the event.
Recommended Resources:
For more information about the film, where to watch it, other upcoming screenings that may be local to where you are, and ways to support the land defenders you see on screen, check out their website.
To learn more about the Unist’ot’en Village and Camp that is actively practicing land defense, and for ways to support them, check out their website.
About the Panelists:
Eve Saint
Eve is a Wet’suwet’en Land Defender, Financial Divestment Campaigner and mother of two, and a leading organizer in the movement urging RBC to divest from Coastal GasLink and the fossil fuel industry. Eve is the daughter of Chief Woos, one of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs. In 2020, Eve was at Gidimt’en Checkpoint during the RCMP’s militarized invasion of unceded territory, where dozens of unarmed Indigenous people were arrested at gunpoint, including many elders and women. Eve has continued to resist Coastal GasLink since then, and in recent years has focused on financial pressure as a strategy to stop CGL Phase 2 and to force the financial system to respect Indigenous rights. Eve has organized an international delegation of Indigenous Land Defenders to RBC’s annual general meeting for the past three years, which has contributed to policy shifts at the bank related to respect for Indigenous rights and funding renewable and clean energy. Eve lives in Tkaronto, where she cares for two beautiful children.
Jocey Alec
Hadeeh’/Hello,
My name is Jocey Alec and I am a Wet’suwet’en land defender and the daughter of Chief Woos, the head chief of C’as Yikh (Grizzly) house on Gidimt’en territory. I have lived on the land for up to three years, continuing to oppose the industrial projects that have caused vast environmental damage without the consent of hereditary Wet’suwet’en leadership. Living on our land requires learning the refined skills and knowledge of my ancestors, and with the guidance of my father’s teachings, I have begun to hunt, trap and navigate in the ways of our people. This way of life is deeply meaningful because I protect the land and water not only for myself, I do it for everyone because we are all connected one way or another but most importantly for many future generations to come.