A Line Drawn in the Earth: Haida Gwaii and the Stand for Justice
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Something profound is happening in Haida Gwaii.
After the deliberate and violent killing of a Haida community member, Luke, something shifted—not just in the village, but in the hearts of people up and down the coast. A man has been charged with murder, but the community isn’t waiting for the courts to decide what justice means.
This isn’t about drugs. It isn’t about gossip or rumors. It’s about one of their own being murdered, and others allegedly condoning it. That is what broke the bond. That is why, as I write this, families are being exiled from the land—run out, their homes being torn down. It's not something done lightly. It’s done out of heartbreak, fury, and a refusal to let silence be mistaken for acceptance.
In The Shipping News, there's a haunting scene where a house is dragged across the frozen sea—banished. That image came back to me watching this story unfold, but this isn’t fiction. This is real. This is a community rising up with ancient clarity, saying: “No more.” No more to violence. No more to complicity. No more to broken trust.
From Haida Gwaii to the Downtown Eastside, the nations are watching, drumming, and guarding their lands and their people. There are blockades—not of rage, but of protection. They are defending the sacred, defending each other.
We don’t know where those exiled have gone. There are whispers—maybe Vancouver, maybe hidden—but the truth is, what matters most is where the spirit of this story travels.
Let it not be forgotten. Let it not be twisted.
This is not vengeance. It is sovereignty.
This is not chaos. It is clarity.
This is not hate. It is love in its fiercest form.
Justice for Luke.
Justice for all those lost to silence.
Let the world not look away.
Resources & Links:
- Justice for Luke Facebook Page
- Haida Nation official site
- Understanding Indigenous Sovereignty – Native Land Digital
Reflection Question for Readers:
When communities are failed by colonial justice systems, what does real accountability look like—and are we willing to listen when it doesn't fit our expectations?
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