If this protest doesn’t kill you, I will: Youth vs. colonial capitalism in so-called British Columbia 2020-2021

Keywords: youth, activism, Wet'suwet'en, protest, colonial capitalism
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 62

Abstract

In the deep of winter 2020, militarized police officers moved in on Indigenous land defenders who were actively blocking the 670km long Coastal GasLink pipeline from crossing through the heart of unceded Wet’suwet’en territory in northern British Columbia. The subsequent violent removal and arrest of Indigenous land defenders spurred solidarity protests across Turtle Island, including multiple critical and effective protests led by young people in BC. An emerging group of young people self-identified as Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en—led by Indigenous Two Spirit, femme and queer youth—enacted direct action and digital activism tactics that encouraged young people to speak out against police violence and rally and advocate for hereditary rights and title in the face of resource extraction. This paper explores young people’s ongoing direct actions against colonial capitalism in British Columbia’s rural and urban spaces during 2020-2021. I consider how, in the face of ongoing colonial and racist capitalist dispossession, young people made claims about the lives and worlds they want to thrive within. I examine how when young people turned away from state sanctioned forms of youth advocacy and activism they were increasingly exposed to police violence and the ire of provincial political leaders. To reckon with this moment, I reflect through qualitative interviews I conducted with diverse young people from BC and together we explore the queer and anti-colonial futures these young people claimed for themselves and each other.