Earlier this year, Amnesty International had the honour of travelling to Wet’suwet’en territory and delivering more than 26,000 letters of solidarity to land defenders who have been criminalized, intimidated, and harassed for resisting the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
The letters were written by people around the world who had taken part in Amnesty’s Write for Rights letter-writing campaign. A solidarity canoe was made by transforming thousands of letters into a paper canoe. The canoe, which carried the spirit of international unity, was an offering to Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and community members.
During their visit to Wet’suwet’en territory, the Amnesty team did follow-up research on proposed industrial sites linked to the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The latest developments are deeply concerning, not only because of their environmental and climate impacts, but also from the perspective of free, prior, and informed consent and the increasing criminalization of Wet’suwet’en land defenders.
