January 21, 2019

Will Falk: Making Space For The Sacred To Thrive

7 minutes

In this segment of my discussion writer, lawyer, and environmental activist Will Falk, we place Will's activism and insights within the broader context of what is currently unfolding at the Unist'ot'en Camp, part of the Wet’suwet’en territory in so-called British Columbia. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), on January 7th, breached the borders of Wet’suwet’en territory, violating Canadian and International law, as well as the sovereignty of the unceded territory of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. The proposed construction of a massive $4.7 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory has been in the works for almost a decade, and finally, after years of harassment by numerous parties, including the Canadian government, the RCMP broke through the barracaded Gitdumt'en Checkpoint of the Wet’suwet’en territory. We discuss how (speaking as settlers in North America) we can begin to understand what this struggle for indigenous autonomy means, especially within the broader struggle to upend white supremacy and colonial expansion in the modern era. In being able to preserve, maintain, and defend space for human and non-human life against the tide of colonial expansion, the continued autonomy of the Unist’ot’en Camp and the Wet’suwet’en Nation is key in our collective attempt to reclaim, heal, and live on the lands that have been violated in the name of human progress, civilization, and maintenance of the status quo.

It must be stated that Will is not a member of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, nor a spokesperson for the Unist’ot’en Camp. He speaks as someone who has spent a significant amount of time at the Camp and has developed a deep respect and love for the Wet’suwet’en people, the Unist'ot'en Camp, and the beautiful space they hold in their struggle against the state of Canada and the fossil fuel industry. Learn more about the Unist’ot’en Camp support their struggle for autonomy at: http://unistoten.camp

Will Falk is a writer, lawyer, and environmental activist. Will graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School and practiced as a public defender in Kenosha, WI. He left the public defender office to pursue frontline environmental activism. So far, activism has taken him to the Unist’ot’en Camp – an indigenous cultural center and pipeline blockade on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory in so-called British Columbia, Canada, to a construction blockade on Mauna Kea in Hawai’i, and to endangered pinyon-juniper forests in the Great Basin. Learn more about Will’s work at his website: http://willfalk.org

This is a segment of episode #167 of Last Born In The Wilderness “No Access Without Consent: The Unist'ot’en Camp; In Defense Of The Sacred w/ Will Falk.” Listen to the full episode: http://bit.ly/LBWfalk

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