Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

WSS student shows support for Wet'suwet'en

'It's not about the pipeline, it's about consent,' says Natilyn Kyanna
news_seatosky2-1-905ea522ce5e00c6
Solidarity Natilyn Kyanna—a Grade 9 student at Whistler Secondary School—is supporting the Wet'suwet'en protesters. Photo submitted

Following last week's RCMP raid on the Wet'suwet'en protesters in northern B.C., shows of solidarity have been held across the country—including in Pemberton.

After seeing a woman demonstrating in downtown Pemberton on Wednesday, Jan. 9, Natilyn Kyanna—a Grade 9 student at Whistler Secondary School—decided to join the cause.

"The message I want to send is that I support Wet'suwet'en, and there needs to be proper consent," she said. "It's not about the pipeline, it's about consent." 

Some members of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation are opposed to a proposed natural gas pipeline that would cross their traditional territory, linking the Dawson Creek area to a processing plant near Kitimat. Fourteen members of the nation were arrested at a barricade near Houston on Jan. 7, when RCMP enforced a court injunction to allow TransCanada Coastal Gaslink workers on the contested territory.

While the project proponent, TransCanada, has struck agreements with all of the First Nations band councils along the route, a group of hereditary chiefs say that traditional territory falls under their jurisdiction, and they are opposed to the pipeline project.

Kyanna, whose father is Wet'suwet'en, was anxious that the RCMP was overly aggressive in its raid. "I am half Wet'suwet'en, and I have family up there right now," said Kyanna. "I was concerned, because my family is up there."

To encourage other people to join her protest, Kyanna put out a call on Facebook Jan. 9, inviting friends and Lil'wat Nation chief and council to join her.

"So tomorrow after school I'm going to go join that lady and hopefully she is still out there," wrote Kyanna on Facebook. "I am asking everyone to get informed, and if willing please come stand with me in support of My Wet'suw'ten family."

In the end, only a few members of her immediate family turned up, including her mom, Olivia Edmonds.

"It made me really nervous that (Kyanna) went (into Pemberton to protest), because I knew there were going to be people opposed to her," said Edmonds, adding that Kyanna is passionate about the issue, and that she supported her daughter's decision to protest.

"I've always left everything up to her," said Edmonds. "I just told her to be well informed, before she decides which way she feels about it. "

Edmonds said the experience has been positive for her daughter.

"I think this incident has kind of brought more out of her, than I've seen before," she said. "I think it kind of hit close to home for her."

Kyanna—who carried an orange sign with the words "We support Wet'suwet'en"—said that during the protest, one negative incident did, in fact, occur.

"There was this guy—he had this really big truck with LED lights—and he read my sign, and he put his high beams on and flipped me off," she said.

Despite this, Kyanna said showing support for the Wet'suwet'en protesters was important and gratifying.

(See "Science Matters" column for related article on page 34.)