Raid on Wet'suwet'en — Help us send Brandi Morin

This afternoon the RCMP’s militarized C-IRG unit raided Gidimt’en Checkpoint on Wet’suwet’en territory in Northern B.C. Details are still coming in, but we know at least five land defenders, including Jocey Alec, daughter of Chief Woos, were arrested and removed from their territory.

Land defenders remain at the checkpoint, barricaded inside one or more cabins, and the latest reports from sources on the ground indicate the RCMP may have left for the day. It’s unclear when or if they intend to return.

Edward R. Murrow award-winning Indigenous journalist Brandi Morin has been covering this story for years, over at least a dozen feature reports, and has visited the territory many times.

She’s ready to drop everything, get in the car and drive ten straight hours so she can bring you this story from the frontlines of the climate wars — But she needs your help to cover her expenses.

It costs a fortune to send journalists to cover this story, and the RCMP do their best to keep the press away. But the presence of journalists like Brandi matters. Cameras keep everyone safe, and journalists hold the police accountable for their actions.

We’ve asked you to help send Brandi to Wet’suwet’en to cover the latest news there at least four times, and every time you’ve covered her expenses so she can concentrate on reporting.

Let’s make it five.

Background

For years, a conflict has been unfolding deep in the woods of northern B.C., one that pits the hereditary leadership of the Wet’suwet’en and their supporters against heavily-armed paramilitary police officers.

The RCMP has had a continuous presence on the Wet’suwet’en Yintah (territory) since late 2018, after Coastal Gaslink obtained an injunction against land defenders blocking the path of a pipeline being constructed through Wet’suwet’en territory under the sacred Wedzin Kwa river.

Brandi Morin and 2022 World Press Photo winner Amber Bracken spent a week in the territory early last year to tell the full story of the sacred river at the heart of this conflict.

Efforts by Wet’suwet’en people to assert their sovereignty have resulted in police raids, arrests, and violent repression. Journalists have also been repeatedly detained and interfered with by police.

The Supreme Court of Canada and the governments of British Columbia and Canada have recognized that the hereditary leadership of the Wet’suwet’en hold rights and title on their traditional territory. Despite this universal recognition of their authority, the pipeline is being pushed through without their consent.

Police violence when media cameras turn off

Ricochet has been sending Indigenous journalists like Jerome Turner and Brandi Morin to report from the frontlines of this conflict since 2020. Turner won the Canadian Association of Journalists highest honour for his “moral courage” during the 2020 raid, when he was held at gunpoint and detained for over eight hours by the RCMP.

Now we need your help again to keep Brandi’s reporting going.

Every donation counts!

The last thing Brandi should be worrying about is how she can pay for her hotel, or for gas, or her next meal.

You can help. Please consider donating today.

All donations in excess of what is needed for this trip will be held in trust and earmarked for future reporting from Wet’suwet’en. This fundraiser is organized by Ethan Cox and all funds will be received by Ricochet Media, a non-profit national media outlet.