A documentary by Christopher Aucher
The Haida people live on Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, and have done so for many generations. They have their own language, culture and way of life. You may well recognise Haida art – it’s highly distinctive and widely recognised as an art form in its own right.
In 2009, as part of a historic reconciliation between the Haida Nation and the Canadian province of British Columbia, the islands were officially renamed Haida Gwaii. The name change acknowledged the long history and cultural significance of the islands to the Haida people. These lands are rich with ancient rainforests, wildlife and unspoilt rivers and bays.
But in the mid-1980s, things were far from peaceful. Trees were a valuable resource, and the Canadian authorities had granted logging rights with little regard for the Haida people, who saw the forest as their physical, spiritual and ancestral home. In response, the Haida decided to block the only access road. A peaceful protest – but nonetheless deemed illegal by those who had approved the logging.
From the Haida point of view, the land was theirs. No one had the right to come and take the trees.
Film-maker Christopher Auchter, himself a member of the Haida Nation, tells this story in his documentary The Stand. I spoke to Christopher about the genesis of the film.
“My aunt and uncle were involved in these protests. They even appear at various points in the archive footage.
I was very fortunate that two young film-makers – Susan Underwood and Donna Wilson – travelled down from Vancouver to Haida Gwaii, lived with the Haida people and were able to record these moments.
“I wanted to tell the story of the protest, and when I spoke to my aunt and uncle about it, they put me in touch with Susan. When I met her and explained what I wanted to do, she was happy to send me home with boxes of tapes – hours of footage. Together with TV news segments and interviews from the archives, I was able to tell what’s now a forgotten story. At the time it did make the news, but older people who’ve seen the finished film say the version on TV was very different to what really happened.
“It was one of the first blockades to take place, so the government and police had no playbook. It was new for everyone – especially the strategy of non-violence, which was very effective in gaining public support. In the Haida tradition, elders go first – and they were the first to be arrested. In more recent times, protests like this have often been more confrontational and violent. But it worked – British Columbia now recognises Haida title to the land, and hopefully very soon Canada will too.”
“Making the area a national park might seem like the answer to an outsider, but that would mean the Haida Nation accepting that the Canadian government owns the land and has the right to decide what happens there. There has to be mutual respect. The agreement wasn’t just Canada recognising Haida title to the land – it was also about the Haida recognising that Canada was there too. Everyone was on the same small island – and they had to get on.”
One beautiful Haida belief is that a supernatural spirit lives among the trees and land, keeping everything in balance. This is cleverly invoked in the film – but I won’t reveal any spoilers.
The Stand is a charming and immersive film, telling a story that is both historically important and strikingly relevant today. It’s fascinating to see how a protest movement remained rooted within the community, never hijacked by outsiders. In an age of instant communication – where legitimate protest can so easily spiral out of control on social media – this story carries an almost innocent charm. Even though both sides disagreed, they respected each other.
