Juried Exhibition: Call for Artist Submissions
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WE ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR INSTALLATION OF OUR NEXT EXHIBIT.
JOIN US AT THE OPENING RECEPTION FOR
CONCEPTUALIZING LOCAL
POSTPONED TO SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7th, 2024 2PM
Join us at the Durham Art Gallery
on November 21 at 6:30pm for a free event!
Public screening of the documentary film
Yintah, a decade of wet'suwet'en resistance
followed by a discussion
led by activist Trish Mills
Film Synopsis
YINTAH, meaning “land” in the Wet’suwet’en language, tells the story of an Indigenous nation’s fight for sovereignty as they resist the construction of multiple oil and fracked-gas pipelines across their territory.
Over the period of a decade, the film follows Tsakë ze’ Howilhkat Freda Huson, Tsakë ze’ Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, and their fellow land defenders as they reoccupy their traditional territory and galvanize their nation in a fight against several of the largest fossil fuel companies on earth.
YINTAH is about an anti-colonial resurgence—a fierce and ongoing fight for Indigenous and human rights. The film reveals the hypocrisy of the Canadian government’s espousal of reconciliation, as Indigenous land is still being seized at gunpoint for the purpose of resource extraction.
The Hereditary Chiefs’ claim to jurisdiction over the territory is supported by a 1997 Supreme Court of Canada decision. When a lower court effectively sidesteps this decision, granting pipeline companies access to Wet’suwet’en land, Wet’suwet’en leaders put their bodies on the line, building barricades to keep the companies out.
Ultimately, YINTAH is the story of the Indigenous right to stewardship and sovereignty over their territories. Freda, Molly, and the land defenders are part of a centuries-long fight to protect their children, culture, and land from colonial violence. For the Wet’suwet’en, their very future is at stake.