Flying over squares of clearcuts and various shades of green marking conifer plantations in north central British Columbia, the pilot followed directions from David DeWit, a leader of Wet'suwet'en First Nation. DeWit's map of their territory's traditional trails reflected markers on the ground: circles carved into trees, which offered proof of the Nation's history in this area. As the helicopter approached Caas Tl'aat Kwah (also known as Serb Creek), a 1,600-hectare (about 3,953-acre) watershed, the forest became a blanket of deep green, cleaved only by yellow-green wetlands threaded with glacial blue streams.
We want to conserve it for future generations, said Charlotte Euverman, the Wet'suwet'en woman leading a fight to save this area, which includes a traditional feasting site. We have to leave them something.
With a population of about 5,000, the Wet'suwet'en are composed of five clans (Gilseyhu, Laksamshu, Laksilyu, Tsayu and Gitdumden), which are further divided into 13 house groups, each with its own distinct territories.
Today just 20% of British Columbia's old-growth forests remain. In 2020, after decades of activist pressure, the province identified about a quarter of the remaining old growth as at high risk for logging and recommended a pause while deciding their fate.
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