In August 2020 opposition to logging old growth forests in British Columbia’s South Vancouver Island’s Fairy Creek’s 1183 hectares gained momentum. Old growth forests were dwindling in British Columbia and Fairy Creek was unique as a fully intact valley of old growth trees with its own complex biodiversity. Teal Jones Group had legal rights to log on Crown land there. The activist movement’s stated goal was to prevent old growth logging at Fairy Creek it but in reality it was to delay it as much as possible through blockades of logging trucks and personnel.
The film commences with shots of beauty of this forest quickly marred by the murderous sounds of chainsaws threatening forests not only in British Columbia but also in the Philippines and in the Brazilian Amazonian forests.
One might conclude at the film’s outset this was a unified protest of the good hippies against the crude and vulgar Monty Phyton lumberjacks. There are some stereotypical moments with the young activists dancing, singing and drumming with Indigenous allies like in a Club Med evening entertainment skit or dancing to hip hop at the side of the road with cool names like Flying Squirrel, Bush Pig, Panda, Pony, Sparkplug and DJ Raven. A Woodstock hippie revival party. One activist may have summed up the strategy as stopping the logging by putting pageantry all around it. And there is plenty of pageantry, drama and extreme sensitivity e.g. chaining themselves to tree stumps, pipes and trees and threatening belligerent loggers with a humorous quip just go ahead as the whole world is watching you on Instagram! What a nasty persuasive threat!
But wait a moment. The elected band council for the Pacheedaht First Nation wants the activists to leave their protest camps in and around Fairy Creek as they do not welcome unsolicited interference in their affairs. Not all members of Pacheedaht First Nation agree with their elected band council some calling them aligned with corporate interests.
The activists filmed stress the peaceful nature of their protest where arrests will not be resisted. And as the protests continue the divide in the activists sharpen to a point of anger when a Fairy Creek tree stump is exhibited at a public event. The young Indigenous activists diss the well meaning primarily Caucasian activists by saying their actions at Fairy Creek were not a safe movement “for us”. The claim is made there was violence and tokenization and “we” do not wish to ally ourselves with you and “we” do not wish to expose ourselves to more harm. If you are not young and Indigenous you are against us is the message? Perhaps as far as the Indigenous youth are concerned perhaps, they really mean to say as a logger shouted to the Fairy Creek activists, “Go back to Victoria you ++++suckers!”
There was very little filming of calm loggers only angry and foul-mouthed ones portrayed like that redneck character with the boil on his neck grabbing his shotgun to put to rest Peter Fonda in “Easy Rider”. Surely there must be calm loggers willing to state their cause.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are filmed initially peacefully carrying out the enforcement of a court injunction ordering protestors off the land. But tempers flare as do the tactics of the RCMP. High marks to the documentary near its conclusion drawing the viewer right to the front lines chillingly conveying how rapidly and explosively a civil disobedience event can mushroom into a near riot. Did the RCMP really have to spray pepper spray on the activists? High comedy (pun intended) when the RCMP lowers two officers from a helicopter to arrest a tree sitter!
We hear just a few words from a mill owner but not enough. What were the economic impacts of the Fairy Creek protests and particularly how workers in that industry thought about their importance in the economic development of Vancouver Island.
An intriguing and eye-opening documentary about divergences in the Fairy Creek activist movement seemingly controlled by “white settlers” and within the Indigenous community struggling for Indigenous sovereignty. A primer how activism can accomplish its goals through its pageantry and its management of activism.
The British Columbia government deferred Fairy Creek logging until 1February2025.
And you thought this was just a simple us against them movement which by the way was the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada with 1,200 arrests and an undisclosed number of catch and releases. As history of Canadian activism and the emergence of a youth led Indigenous sovereignty movement this may be one day be a classic!
Director is Jen Muranetz.
Next showing at the Whistler Film Festival on 7December2024.
RKS 2024 Film Rating 90/100.
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