Off the north coast of British Columbia, Haida elders say that thousands of years ago Raven pulled the first people out of a clam shell in the ocean and placed them on the land. The people have fought to defend their lands and waters ever since.

An oil spill, many locals say, would be devastating to the fragile marine ecosystem that has sustained the Haida Nation for generations. But some who are seeking economic development and job opportunities are beginning to think that’s a risk worth taking.

Discourse Media received a formal invitation to attend a traditional potlatch ceremony on August 13, 2016 in Old Massett, Haida Gwaii. The potlatch is central to the Haida’s traditional hereditary system of governance. It is their courthouse, their boardroom and their parliament. It is where Haida business is finalized. But the business conducted on this occasion had not been done in hundreds of years.

The reason for this potlatch? A Haida clan was preparing to strip the names of two hereditary chiefs for secretly supporting Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline — a project the Haida Nation has been fighting in court.

More than 500 guests came to witness the historic event. First Nations leaders from up and down the coast and leaders from nations along Enbridge’s proposed pipeline route flooded into the “Haida House” to show their support. Many share the same concerns as the hosting clan: that an oil leak along the pipeline route or a catastrophic tanker spill on the ocean would cause irreversible harm to wildlife, salmon runs and the environment.

Read the rest of this feature on The Discourse.