Wet’suwet’en Peoples (Yinka Dini – People of this Earth)
Unis’tot’en of the Wet’suwet’en
The Unis’tot’en (C’ihlts’ehkhyu / Big Frog Clan) are the original Wet’suwet’en distinct to the lands of the Wet’suwet’en. Over time in Wet’suwet’en History, the other clans developed and were included throughout Wet’suwet’en Territories. The Unis’tot’en are known as the toughest of the Wet’suwet’en as their territories were not only abundant, but the terrain was known to be very treacherous. The Unis’tot’en recent history includes taking action to protect their lands from Lions Gate Metals at their Tacetsohlhen Bin Yintah, and building a cabin and resistance camp at Talbits Kwah at Gosnell Creek and Wedzin Kwah (Morice River which is a tributary to the Skeena and Bulkley River) from seven proposed pipelines from Tar Sands Gigaproject and LNG from the Horn River Basin Fracturing Projects in the Peace River Region
Likhts’amisyu Clan of the Wet’suwet’en
The Likhts’amisyu (Firewood Clan) are made up of people who have ancient roots which originate in the ancient Gitxsan village of Temlahamidt. They have developed strong relationships with many of the Wet’suwet’en Clans and neighboring tribes. They carefully managed a Fireweed travel and trade corridor which enriched people from the Nat’ot’en territories, through to the Wet’suwet’en territories, into the heart of Gitxsan territories and up into Nisga’a territories. Their territories in Wet’suwet’en country are also threatened by development. For example, the Bard Ventures Mining Exploration site near Houston BC threatens an ancient battle/burial ground of the Wet’suwet’en and their southern neighbors the Tsilhc’ot’en. Also, there is the Huckleberry Mine which is located at the Easternmost side of the Sibola Range near the devastated watershed at Ootsa Lake which was flooded by the Kemano Hydro Electric Project. The proposed Petroleum Pipeline projects threaten some of the most treacherous and unstable terrain in Wet’suwet’en territories along the Clore River Watershed.
Grassroots Wet’suwet’en –
The Grassroots Wet’suwet’en do not operate from a boardroom or from a societies act, they walk and breathe their laws with a powerful and unbreakable marriage to the land. The Grassroots peoples of the Wet’suwet’en are healers, warriors, elders, hunters, fisherpeople, knowledge keepers, and are culturally driven. The Grassroots peoples have a great potential to reverse impacts from colonization and eradicate the resultant social and spiritual poverty by continuing to show the next generations to walk with their laws.
Lhe Lin Liyin –
Comprised of Grassroots peoples with a healer concept and warrior concept combined together to guard the people and territories from impactful policy and so-called economic and industrial expansions. The Lhe Lin Liyin are ‘The Guardians”.
Bahni, or Warriors, have a responsibility to uphold the Traditional and Natural laws in the face of threat, infiltration, degradation, violence, and diminishment. To seek a path in modern times, the natural laws of the people produce virtues that empowers the peace and respect involved in relating to the world around them. The warriors are groomed to connect with the people by working next to them, getting their hands dirty with everyone, develop a strong body and mind to protect that very connection and territories.
The Lhe Lin Liyin, in their development and resurrection from history, had operated Youth Warrior Camps, Marginalized Men’s Camps, and Action Camps. The growing demand for responding to increased and large pace and scale of industrial interests in UnCeded Occupied Territories in the time when the international standards of operating with Free Prior and Informed Consent, the Lhe Lin Liyin develop concepts to share among receptive neighboring nations and allies who face common and connected threats of unwanted development.