Epilogue

Abstract

The epilogue turns to the Wet’suwet’en territories near Smithers, and to a new kind of War in the Woods. During the past decade, Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en land defenders established new checkpoints and blockades in response to a profusion of new pipeline projects and disagreements over logging privileges. In early 2020, the first major sweep of arrests at Wet’suwet’en-run checkpoints inspired a national wave of solidarity protests—perhaps the largest Indigenous-led uprisings in Canada since the original War in the Woods. Examining how some retrospective debates over failed consultation protocols have repositioned Wet’suwet’en researchers as potential saviors in the disputes, I speculate about how new generations of activists may see their own lives take shape around the elusive promises of rural research.