The elders are eager to record a video statement to bring their voices to the public which is currently only exposed to the one-sided verbal pollution that the media passes off as news. You understand the importance of getting the message out so that the public gets a chance to hear your side of the story before the oil companies are able to build up enough support for a raid on the camp.
A press release is drafted straight away, although exposure remains the problem. You’re unlikely to get coverage from the same networks that air the paid advertisements from the oil and gas companies, so you’ll have to rely on social media to spread the message. Social media comes with its own set of problems however. The way that posts are shared through social networks means that the video will only circulate within groups of people who are likely to already be sympathetic to your struggle. The only hope is give the video mass appeal, but how do you accomplish that without watering down the message? You push all this to the back of your mind and focus on leveling the microphones and cutting out the ambient background sounds as you set up the tripod and encourage the elders to just speak their mind. Standing casually on a small hill overlooking the camp the elders speak. They do not disappoint.
“We are the keepers of the sacred fire that burns eternal in the spirit of this land. We keep this fire burning in accordance to our laws, the living laws of the land, the laws that our ancestors walked with. These laws that we adhere to do not stem from the authority of government. We submit to a greater authority, that of the earth.”
“The laws that we follow are the same laws that govern the migration of the caribou, the spawning of the salmon, the laws that let the rivers flow, and the eagle soar.”
“The belief that any man holds authority over these territories is an illusion, for we know that it is the territory that holds authority over us. We have been asked by the ancestors who walked this land not to allow it to be destroyed by ignorant fools. We did not come here to protest the drilling we are here to stop it.”
“That’s amazing!” you say after they’ve finished. “We don’t even have to edit that, we can send it out as one take!”
“We wouldn’t let you change any of it anyhow,” says Kalanu with a characteristic chuckle. “Remember, you work for us now.”
***
The video is a big hit and gathers a lot of attention beyond the social media networks. It’s hard to gauge public opinion, isolated as you are from civilization, but the campaign is growing momentum exponentially and with each passing day it seems less and less likely that the authorities will have the social license to have you removed.
Original photo by: Aarju Kadyan