'Protecting the land': Yellowknife musicians gather for Wet'suwet'en solidarity event

Musicians and artists in Yellowknife will hold a solidarity concert and silent auction on Thursday evening in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs.

The chiefs and their supporters contest the legality of the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline project in northern B.C., which would cut through the heart of the traditional territory of the Wet'suwet'en. People continue to demonstrate in support of their cause across the country.

The event is to raise money for the chiefs' legal defence, and is being held concurrently with events in Toronto and Vancouver.

Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter Leela Gilday is one of the organizers of the Yellowknife event and will perform on Thursday. She spoke with Loren McGinnis, host of CBC's The Trailbreaker, about her motivation.

As an Indigenous person, that resonates with my personal philosophy.- Leela Gilday

"I was called upon last week by a colleague in Toronto, another Indigenous musician, who said, 'This is our opportunity,'" Gilday said.

"This is our platform as musicians. We aren't necessarily on the front lines, but we can do actions such as this to change people's minds and hearts and show our support."

Gilday said support for the Wet'suwet'en cause has united Indigenous people across the country because what's at stake is not just a pipeline project, but Indigenous sovereignty over the land.

"To me, it's very clearly about protecting the land for future generations," Gilday said. "As an Indigenous person, that resonates with my personal philosophy of us being defenders of the land from those who would exploit it for short-term gain."

The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Museum Cafe in the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. Performers slated include Gilday, Miranda Currie, Tanya Snow, sana sana, Wesley Hardisty, Priscilla's Revenge, Brie O'Keefe and CBC Trail's End host Lawrence Nayally. The event will be hosted by Deneze Nakehk'o.

"It's a real great opportunity to celebrate, show our love, show our support, for those people on the front lines," said Gilday.