The continuation of a Supreme Court trial in Smithers scheduled for June 17 - 21 had all the hallmarks of one for the history books.
On the one hand, there was the black and white letter of B.C. law that saw the three defendants, Sleydo' (Molly Wickham), Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jayochee Jocko convicted of criminal contempt for defying a B.C. Supreme Court injunction allowing Coastal GasLink access to its pipeline route near Houston.
On the other hand, there was the rejection of the law as colonial and the pursuit of defending lands and waters and asserting Indigenous rights and title.
At its core, the case before the court is a constitutional challenge based on an alleged abuse of process in how the RCMP handled the defendants' arrest and detention in November 2021.
Underscoring the profile of the outcome of the trial was the presence of a delegation from Amnesty International and Frontline Defenders, two prominent global human rights organizations.
At stake, the futures of three individuals, the reputations of B.C. and Canada and a potentially precedent-setting decision for generations to come.
It was not to be, however, as the continuation was postponed until September.
Sleydo' said she was disappointed it didn't happen this week.
"It takes time out of everybody's life," she said. "Everybody had to take the whole week off. Everybody had to travel here. We had a group of 12 delegates from all over the world from Amnesty International and Frontline Defenders that were here to witness the trial this week.
"And so myself, Shay and Corey, were supposed to give our evidence in the abusive process this week. So it took a lot to prepare for this week. And we want this to be over. It's been going on since 2021. So now it's just one more setback in the process."
The trio was found in contempt of court for violating an order prohibiting them from blocking construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, a 670-kilometre natural gas pipeline that will transport natural gas across northern British Columbia to an LNG Canada terminal in Kitimat. Construction was completed in December 2023.
Lawyers for the defendants filed motions of abuse of process after they were found guilty on Jan. 12, 2024, arguing their fundamental rights were violated.
Despite the lack of court proceedings, a rally meant to mark the end of the week-long trial went ahead on June 21 at Bovill Square. The event was called Celebrate Anti-Colonial Resistance & Wet'suwet'en Traditional Governance.
"The purpose is to celebrate Indigenous governance, Wet’suwet’en governance specifically, and the resistance to protect our territories," Sleydo' explained.
"We were supposed to be in court today on trial when people are celebrating Indigenous people, and yet Indigenous people are standing trial and facing jail for upholding our own laws.
"So, we thought that it was a bit ironic that that was happening on Indigenous People's Day, and that we would take the opportunity to celebrate our resistance and our laws and upholding them. It's putting us in this system that is outside of our law and in conflict with our law.
"But on top of that, to go on trial and have to deal with this Indigenous People's Day when there is supposed reconciliation happening, I think that it just shows the true colours of what's actually happening in so-called British Columbia in Canada."