Tag Archives: Chief Na'moks

Energy, Indigenous Nations

Sentencing of land defenders tests Canada’s commitment to Indigenous rights

By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Three Indigenous land defenders are set to be sentenced this week for blocking construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline on their nation’s unceded territory in northern British Columbia. 

Hereditary Chief Na’Moks said the defenders from the Wet’suwet’en Nation are standing on the right side of history. He called their efforts an act of care for the land, water and air that sustain everyone. “They are simply protecting what is right for this entire planet,” he said.

Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey “Jayohcee” Jocko were convicted in January 2024 for defying court injunctions that aimed to end blockades against pipeline construction in 2019. The sentencing hearing for the three begins today in Smithers, BC. For the community, it’s raising fundamental questions about how Canadian and Indigenous law coexist.

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Environment, Indigenous Nations

‘We should avoid monitoring’: feds quietly backed off while Coastal GasLink pipeline work killed fish

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

On a dreary gray day in late October, passers by gawked at a scene outside a hotel in Smithers, B.C. The charred remnants of several trucks sat in the parking lot in the wake of what police described as a “targeted attack” in the pre-dawn hours of the morning. 

Among the blackened wreckage were four police cruisers — marked and unmarked vehicles with the RCMP’s Community-Industry Response Group, a special task force assigned to police opposition to industrial projects. The controversial RCMP unit maintains a constant presence on Wet’suwet’en yintah (territory) where Coastal GasLink (CGL) is building a pipeline without the consent of the nation’s Hereditary Chiefs. 

Continue reading ‘We should avoid monitoring’: feds quietly backed off while Coastal GasLink pipeline work killed fish →
Energy, Indigenous Nations

‘You will be arrested’: Coastal GasLink security denies Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief access to monitor project construction

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Under an early November snowfall, a tense standoff slowly unfolded between Coastal GasLink security workers, RCMP and Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Na’moks.

“If you pass this gate, sir, my understanding is that you will be arrested by the RCMP,” a pipeline security guard told the Chief and his supporters. He was standing in front of a yellow gate across the access road to where the company is drilling under Wedzin Kwa (Morice River) about two kilometres away.

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Indigenous Nations, Justice

Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs hosted a Peace and Unity gathering. RCMP made arrests

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

This week Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs welcomed a delegation from across the country and beyond to the yintah (territory) for a Peace and Unity Summit. Through the four-day event, the chiefs brought together Indigenous leaders, politicians, conservation groups and others to uplift Indigenous sovereignty, share space and join in solidarity with the Hereditary Chiefs in their opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

“It’s really heartwarming to see all the people coming together in peace and unity across Canada to maintain the solidarity of the Wet’suwet’en,” Dinï ze’ (Hereditary Chief) Madeek told attendees at the event.

“You make history by being peaceful. By being here, being together, being united, knowing that we all have the same heart,” Dinï ze’ Na’Moks said.

Arrests weren’t part of the plan.

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Indigenous Nations

RCMP were planning raids while in talks with Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs about meeting

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

The images are familiar now, iconic even: Heavily armed RCMP officers use an axe and a chainsaw to break down the  door of a tiny house. 

Indigenous land defenders, their faces  marked with red handprints to symbolize Missing and Murdered Indigenous  Women and Girls, stand inside with arms raised as police aim  high-calibre rifles at them. 

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