Chief Dsta’hyl of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, the first person in Canada to be designated by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience, will finish his court-ordered house arrest on Monday.
A Wing Chief of the Nation’s Likhts’amisyu Clan, Chief Dsta’hyl was sentenced to 60 days’ house arrest after a British Columbia judge convicted him of criminal contempt for peacefully defending Wet’suwet’en territory against the construction of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) liquefied natural gas pipeline. In late July, Amnesty International declared Chief Dsta’hyl a prisoner of conscience on the basis that his arrest and conviction violated his constitutional and Indigenous rights.
On Thursday, Chief Dsta’hyl thanked well-wishers from around the world for their messages of solidarity and urged supporters to keep pressuring Canada and B.C. to stop infringing upon the Nation’s rights. “The federal government and the province have the power to issue a declaration recognizing our ownership of our 22,000 square kilometres of territory,” he said. “Their unwillingness to do it is beyond me. They went as far as signing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and making other promises, but those are smokescreens to appease the population. They haven’t followed through on their word. This is where people can put pressure on the government and force them into finally recognizing our rights.”
Chief Dsta’hyl, also known as Adam Gagnon, is appealing his conviction on the basis that the court injunction that led to his arrest violated his Indigenous and constitutional rights. He said he would continue to raise a strong voice for the rights of his Nation and in support of other land defenders who have been criminalized for their defence of Wet’suwet’en territory against the construction of the CGL pipeline. But until the court injunction is lifted, Wet’suwet’en land defenders find themselves in a “very precarious situation,” Chief Dsta’hyl stressed.
“I can’t go out and do any enforcement. I can’t protect the land. It was quite clever how they staged the whole thing, by charging us and threatening us with jail. They have tried to incapacitate the whole movement as opposed to taking a noble approach to negotiating with us.
“This injunction should be made illegal. It’s made for corporations at the expense of Indigenous Nations, the people who own and protect the land.”
More Indigenous land defenders could receive prisoner-of-conscience designations
More Indigenous land defenders could face jail time or house arrest for rightfully defending the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s territory against the construction of the CGL pipeline. Next week, a court in Smithers, B.C., will hear arguments into the abuse-of-process complaints of three land defenders arrested in a violent November 2021 police raid on Wet’suwet’en territory: Sleydo’ (also known as Molly Wickham), a Wing Chief (Cas Yikh house) of the Gidimt’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation; Shaylynn Sampson, a Gitxsan woman with Wet’suwet’en family connections; and Corey “Jayohcee” Jocko, who is Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Akwesasne.
A delegation with representatives from Amnesty International Canada, Amnesty International Germany and Front Line Defenders will attend next week’s hearings, which could find that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) used excessive force against the land defenders during their arrests.
“Like Chief Dsta’hyl, Sleydo’, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey “Jayohcee” Jocko face the prospect of imprisonment or house arrest because Canada refuses to respect their rights and the rights of the Wet’suwet’en Nation,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Americas Director. “If their cases go to sentencing, Amnesty International will not hesitate to consider new prisoner-of-conscience designations and shine more light into Canada’s failures on Indigenous rights.”
“Indigenous land defenders are being criminalized solely for wanting to protect their lands and rights against a fossil fuel development project to which they did not give their free, prior and informed consent, as required by international law,” said France-Isabelle Langlois, Executive Director of Amnistie internationale Canada francophone. “In the current context of global climate crisis, it is irresponsible, to say the least, and even shocking, that the government of British Columbia continues to make such accusations, without regard for its international obligations, even though the province has adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.”
‘We thank Chief Dsta’hyl for sharing his story and voice at an incredibly challenging time.His courageous advocacy from the confines of house arrest has put Canadian lawmakers on alert and informed millions of people globally about the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s struggle for justice.”
David Matsinhe, Amnesty International Canada
Amnesty International’s declaration of Chief Dsta’hyl as Canada’s first prisoner of conscience made headlines around the world. He participated virtually in a 31 July press conference that was covered widely in the Canadian media and beyond.
“We thank Chief Dsta’hyl for sharing his story and voice at an incredibly challenging time,” said David Matsinhe, Director of Policy, Advocacy and Research at Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section. “His courageous advocacy from the confines of house arrest has put Canadian lawmakers on alert and informed millions of people globally about the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s struggle for justice.”
On 25 September at noon EDT/9am PDT, Amnesty International will host a live, hour-long Zoom conversation with Chief Dsta’hyl. He will open a new window into his Nation’s struggle to defend its rights and take time to answer viewers’ questions. Go here to register.
Additional background
In December 2023, Amnesty International published the report ‘Removed from our land for defending it’: Criminalization, Intimidation and Harassment of Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders. The publication examines the human rights violations inflicted upon members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation and their supporters by the authorities of Canada and British Columbia; CGL Pipeline Ltd. and TC Energy, the corporations building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory; and Forsythe Security, a private security firm contracted by CGL Pipeline Ltd.
Based in part on witness testimony of four large-scale RCMP raids on Wet’suwet’en territory marked by the unlawful use of force, the report finds that Wet’suwet’en land defenders and their supporters were arbitrarily detained for peacefully defending their land against the construction of the pipeline and exercising their Indigenous rights and their right of peaceful assembly. In June and July 2022, the B.C. Prosecution Service (BCPS) charged 20 land defenders with criminal contempt for allegedly disobeying an injunction order to stay away from pipeline construction sites. Seven of the 20 land defenders pleaded guilty because of restrictive bail conditions, as well as the familial, psychological and financial impacts that the criminal trial process was having on them. Five others had the charges against them dropped.
Sleydo’, Sampson and Jocko, who were found guilty of criminal contempt for violating the injunction, have filed an abuse-of-process application — arguing the RCMP violated their rights during their arrests — that could see their guilty verdicts stayed. Five Wet’suwet’en land defenders detained in March 2023 and charged with criminal contempt for allegedly violating the terms of the injunction are waiting for their trial dates to be set.
Amnesty International has called on the government of British Columbia to ensure the end of the criminalization of Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous land defenders, including in the context of the CGL pipeline construction. Amnesty International opposes the expansion of all fossil fuel pipelines and related infrastructure.
Amnesty International’s prisoner-of-conscience determination is based on the information available to Amnesty International regarding the circumstances leading to the person’s detention. In naming a person as a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty International is affirming that this person must be immediately and unconditionally released but is not endorsing past or present views or conduct by them.
(Header photo courtesy of Chief Dsta’hyl)
