Dear Chris,

My name is Chief Dsta’hyl. I’m a Wing Chief from the Likhts’amisyu Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation.

Just recently, Amnesty International declared me the first-ever Prisoner of Conscience in Canada while I served a 60-day sentence under house arrest. I was simply protecting my ancestral land from the construction of a fossil fuel pipeline.

Amnesty maintains I was unjustly deprived of my liberty, and I never should have been charged or sentenced in the first place. The news of this designation made headlines in many major Canadian media outlets.

However, I’m not the only person who faced criminalization for trying to stop the pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory. Several other Indigenous land defenders still await sentencing, or their trials haven’t started yet.

Join me online on Wednesday, September 25th, at 12:00 p.m. EDT for a conversation hosted by Amnesty International, where I will share my stories.

The Prisoner of Conscience designation is not just about me. It symbolizes the collective struggle for Indigenous rights and recognition of Wet’suwet’en laws in Canada.

During my house arrest, I reflected upon the continued sidelining of Wet’suwet’en laws by the government of so-called Canada. I’ve also been thinking a lot about the brave resistance of the Wet’suwet’en people alongside our neighbouring Nations in our efforts to protect our lands and keep our water and skies clean.

For 240 years, we have faced incarceration on reserves and turned into ‘Status Indians’ by the colonial forces. Now, I stand as a ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ because of these ongoing injustices.

I am grateful for Amnesty International's continued work in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation in our fight against the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Our unceded ancestral territory has been bulldozed without our free, prior, and informed consent.

Amnesty’s report from last year, 'Removed from our land for defending it’: Criminalization, Intimidation and Harassment of Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders, revealed to the world what we have been saying for years. Under Canada’s ongoing violence against our people, we have experienced terrible human rights violations and the destruction of our pristine ecosystem—an increasingly precious commodity in the face of climate change.

Your solidarity gives us strength to push forward, fighting for our rights and the recognition we deserve. I hope you will continue to support the Wet’suwet’en people in our ongoing call for authorities to respect our Indigenous rights and to stop criminalizing us.

With gratitude,
Chief Dsta’hyl

P.S. Also, if you want to hear more of my story and ask questions, please register for my upcoming conversation with Amnesty International on Wednesday, September 25th, at 12:00 p.m. EDT.