Episode 33- The Criminalization of Indigenous Land Defenders in Canada -

Our Truth Part Two - Sleydo’ and Jesse Cardinal

WHAT

This is part one of a four part series on the criminalization of land defenders

across Canada, highlighting firsthand experiences and legal injustices.

WHO

Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham) is the spokesperson for the Gidimt’en check-point

on Wet’suwet’en territory. She holds the name in Cas Yikh (grizzly house) and

has been living on and occupying the territory since 2014 with her children.

Gidimt’en check-point has been an Indigenous reoccupation site since 2018

which has been raided three times by militarized RCMP, once on January 7th

2019, on February 5th, 2020, and again on November 18th and 19th 2021, as

a result of grassroots resistance to the Coastal Gaslink pipeline project which

would bring fracked gas from northeastern B.C to an LNG terminal near

Kitimat. Sleydo’ has a masters degree in Indigenous Governance from the

University of Victoria and is heavily involved in the Wet’suwet’en clan

governance system.

Jesse Cardinal is the Executive Director of Keepers of the Water. In this role,

she has challenged the disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous

organizations and created a more just environment for their work.

One of Jesse’s most significant achievements with Keepers of the Water is

the successful mobilization to protect the Athabasca River. Tar sands, one of

the largest industrial projects globally, generated enormous amounts of

hazardous waste that was proposed to be dumped into the river. Jesse, her

team, and other organizations presented scientific evidence and raised

international awareness about the potential catastrophic impacts on the

water, wildlife, and downstream communities. Their efforts prevented the

dumping.

MUSIC

Song: Sanctum

Composer: Scott Buckley

Website: https://youtube.com/user/musicbyscottb

License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free

Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com