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Indigenous Leadership and Sovereignty in the Skeena

Date & Time
Saturday, November 6, 2021, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Description

In 2021, members of the Git'luuhl'um'hetxwit House Group installed a gate and settlement to occupy and protect their traditional lands from logging, effectively keeping the BC Forestry industry from extracting an estimated billion dollars worth of lumber, including significant stands of old growth.

However, there are multiple layers to this kind of action and a deep history of strategy and knowledge that has been learned during decades of resistance.

The blockade itself may grab headlines, but there is a litany of subtler actions and cascading violations of Indigenious laws over many years that have precipitated it.

Come hear from members of the Gitxsan nation as they speak about their experiences with how direct action itself is only the tip of the iceberg.

Session Type
Project Spotlight
Session Tags
Restoration/Conservation, Climate Justice, Relationship with Land, Allyship/Activism, Indigenous Teaching
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Featuring:

Moderated By

Jesse Stoeppler proudly calls the Skeena Watershed home, after completing a degree in Europe he returned to start a family and raise two future leaders amongst the peaks of the beautiful Bulkley Valley. Mentored by Hereditary Chief and Matriarch Yaga’lahl (Dora B. Wilson) he embraces Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en culture and has been actively participating in title & rights and Clan governance as a member of Wilp Spookwx (Lax Gibuu / Gitumden). As a Project Manager for a multi-million trust fund, Jesse was able to lead the way in establishing comprehensive community planning, land use management and create his community's Indigenous economic development.
Jesse Stoeppler