I went to see a screening of YINTAH (2024) today at my local theatre. Cannot recommend enough! Despite obviously having heard of the fight of Wet’suwet’en peoples against the encroaching pipeline, my knowledge of it was very shallow while the crisis was unfolding. This doc gave so much clarity to the struggle that was unfolding on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory. In addition to that, it’s a beautiful and stirring look at the land, really visually communicating the value and the sacredness of what these people were fighting for.
I’m linking the ~90min cut of it available on YouTube!
I highly recommend anyone with any interest in leftism, environmentalism, anti-colonialism, and any strain of social justice to watch, regardless of whether or not you live in so-called Canada.
Description:
This film contains scenes discussing residential schools, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, suicide, and police violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
YINTAH — the Witsuwit'en word for "land" — tells the story of an Indigenous nation’s fight for sovereignty as they resist the construction of multiple oil and fracked-gas pipelines across their territory.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Over the period of a decade, the film follows Tsakë ze’ Howilhkat Freda Huson, Tsakë ze’ Sleydo’ Molly Wickham and their fellow land defenders as they reoccupy their traditional territory and galvanize their nation in a fight against several of the largest fossil fuel companies on earth.
YINTAH is about an anti-colonial resurgence — a fierce and ongoing fight for Indigenous and human rights. The film reveals the hypocrisy of the Canadian government’s espousal of reconciliation, as Indigenous land is still being seized at gunpoint for the purpose of resource extraction.