Canada’s first “prisoner of conscience,” Chief Dsta’hyl of the Wet’suwet’en Nation Indigenous territory, was released in September after serving 60 days of house arrest.

While the court order banning him from interfering with a natural gas pipeline project through his land in the province of British Columbia is still in place, he is appealing the conviction. In July, Amnesty International designated Dsta’hyl as a prisoner of conscience, stating that his arrest and detention violated his right to protest the construction of the 670-kilometer (417-mile) Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline.

Dsta’hyl’s appeal, set to be reviewed at the end of November by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, could result in a landmark ruling as it challenges the authority of colonial laws imposed on Indigenous land and seeks to uphold traditional Wet’suwet’en law and land rights.

Dsta’hyl was arrested in October 2021 and later convicted of criminal contempt after he and others set up camps and blockades, dismantled pipeline equipment, and blocked access roads to prevent the pipeline’s construction on their land. A gate built at the territory’s entrance was deemed illegal.

“I was depressed for the first four months after being arrested because all of a sudden, I’m not allowed on my land,” Chief Dsta’hyl said in a video interview with Amnesty International on Sept. 25, after his release. “I’m not allowed to support any resistance movements against the desecration of our lands.”

Built through a portion of the unceded 22,000 square kilometers (8,500 square miles) of Wet’suwet’en territory, the CGL pipeline, which runs a distance longer than the width of the U.K., is a key part of Canada’s fossil fuel expansion plans.

The court order Dsta’hyl violated bans him and others from “in any way physically interfering with, or counseling others to prevent, impede, restrict or physically interfere with” the CGL project.

Fossil fuel companies promote liquified natural gas (LNG) as a cleaner alternative to coal. But a recent study found that LNG’s greenhouse gas emissions are 33% higher than that of coal.

An Indigenous council set up under a colonial-era Canadian law approved the pipeline project in 2014, but hereditary chiefs including Dsta’hyl, who hold authority over the broader Wet’suwet’en territory, argue that they never consented and view the project as a violation of their rights. The pipeline’s proponents say it will bring jobs and economic benefits to Indigenous communities.

Besides Dsta’hyl, 19 other protesters were charged under the protest ban, while another five were detained in March 2023. None are currently in detention.

“The arrests were to make an example out of them so that it would send a loud message to all of the First Nations in British Columbia: this is what will happen to you if you disrupt our industry and colonization and government,” Dsta’hyl said.

Banner image of Chief Dsta’hyl courtesy of Chief Dsta’hyl.