John Desjarlais

First Nations in the Fairy Creek watershed again demanded that protesters leave their lands after a judge granted an injunction barring blockades on logging roads in the Upper Walbran Valley, where a forestry company holds harvesting rights. The Dididaht, the Pacheedaht, and the Huuayaht Nations signed partnership agreements with industry to harvest old-growth forest. Indigenous communities across the region developed sustainability plans to balance economic livelihoods with environmental stewardship, and they insist they do not need outside interference. Despite that, non-Indigenous protesters resumed blockades in old-growth areas on Indigenous territory. …Indigenous leaders have tracked a decade-long pattern of non-Indigenous protesters arriving, overstaying, and fomenting division within communities. They call this trend “ecocolonialism,” arguing that outside environmental activists intervene in Indigenous internal affairs and oppose resource development pursued by Indigenous groups. They equate that behavior with a modern version of the colonial “divide and conquer” strategy.