YINTAH // Free documentary screening with Wet'suwet'en guests in Six Nations

Please register for this free documentary film screening at the Gathering Place by the Grand on Thursday, March 13th. Everyone is welcome, no one will be turned away. There will be an audience talkback with Wet'suwet'en guests Jen Wickham and Sleydo' Molly Wickham. Food and refreshments provided. Photos will be taken.

Event schedule

5:30pm - Doors open & Food Served
6:00pm - Film starts
8:00pm - Panel discussion & Reception

Trailer and Synopsis

YINTAH means “land.” Spanning more than a decade, Yintah follows the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s fight for sovereignty, following Howilhkat Freda Huson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham as their nation reoccupies and protects their unceded ancestral lands from some of the largest fossil fuel companies on Earth.

This ongoing fight spotlights the Canadian government’s role in sidestepping the 1997 Supreme Court decision that affirmed that Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs have authority over their ancestral territories. When Canada seized of Indigenous land at gunpoint for the purpose of resource extraction, it forced Wet’suwet’en leaders to put their bodies on the line, building barricades to keep the companies out.

This screening is made possible with the support of the following funders.

Our panelists

Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, film protagonist, wing chief of the Gidimt'en Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation
Tsakë ze’ Sleydo’ Molly Wickham is a wing chief of the Cas Yikh people of the Wet’suwet’en Gidimt’en clan. For ten years, she has lived on unceded Cas Yikh territory with her family, in a cabin built strategically to protect an idyllic lake from mining. After supporting the Unist’ot’en behind the scenes for years, Molly was thrust into the national spotlight as the appointed spokesperson of the Gidimt’en Checkpoint. As her clan retook control of their traditional lands, she confronted the police on her doorstep, becoming a recognized icon of the Wet'suwet'en resistance. After leading a 55 day blockade of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, she has experienced targeted state harassment and ongoing criminalization as a result of her unwavering defense of the yintah.

Jennifer Wickham, Co-Director & Producer of YINTAH
Jen is Cas Yikh (Grizzly House) from the Gidimt’en (bear/wolf) clan of the Wet’suwet’en people. Jennifer grew up in and around Wet’suwet’en territory, and has actively participated in her nation’s governance system since 2008. Jen's background is in writing and Indigenous resurgence, with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria and an Education degree from the University of Northern British Columbia. She has worked as an educator, a mental health advocate, and community support worker. She is a founding member of the Indigenous Life School on Wet’suwet’en territory. From 2018 to 2020, Jen worked as the Executive Director of the Witsuwit’en Language and Culture Society. Since 2018, and currently, Jen has been the Media Coordinator for the Gidimt’en Checkpoint.

Layla Staats, Film Participant, associate director of Boil Alert
Layla Staats is Mohawk, Turtle Clan from the Six Nations of the Grand River. She is a filmmaker and multi-disciplinary artist. In November 2021 Layla and a group of Haudenosaunee land defenders answered a call for support from their relatives in Unceded Wet’suwet’en Territory, as Coastal Gaslink prepared to drill under the sacred Wedzin Kwa River, and was arrested. Layla has started production on her second documentary, focusing on the legendary Mohawk Skywalkers. Filming started this month up high above the streets of Tkaronto, with a crew of hardworking, no fear, Ironworkers.

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