A groundbreaking Haida film delves into the 1985 conflict in which the Haida people defended their old-growth forests on Tllga Kun Gwaayaay (Lyell Island) from clear-cut logging.
Director Christopher Auchter's documentary The Stand combines archival footage with animation, taking viewers through the confrontation as if they are experiencing the events in linear time to create a sense of tension and urgency. He did not add any present-day interviews as one might expect in a traditional documentary.
He began this project immediately after his 2019 Haida film, Now is the Time, which explored raising the first totem pole in the community in about 100 years.
The Stand is Auchter's first feature-length film, and will make its world debut on Oct. 3 at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).
Auchter portrays the Haida people's resilience as they battle on the blockades and in court, refusing to give up their old-growth forests even when the government and industry work against them. The film beautifully showcases the dignity and passion of Haida representatives, particularly Miles Richardson and the Elders willing to face arrest for their beliefs.
The director creates a narrative that emphasizes respect and moral conviction, contrasting it sharply with the harsh rhetoric of television commentator Jack Webster.
The media depicts it as a fight for the economy and current jobs, while the Haida view it as a more profound spiritual decision about what they would leave for the next generation. The loggers value the government's decision, allowing them to log further into the land, while the Haida believe the land isn't the government's to make decisions about.
"The laws of the country have shoved us aside as a group," they said in the film. The event represents the first time the modern Haida assert their voice as a group that the B.C. government needs to pay attention to.
The RCMP arrested 72 Haida protesters, including village Elders, during the 1985 blockade, but their efforts ultimately resulted in the preservation of the forests, which include old Sitka spruce, cedar, and hemlock trees, and the region becoming a Haida heritage site.
Auchter remembers his childhood in Haida Gwaii, when forestry workers would visit and inform the residents that, at the current rate of logging, they would lose all their old-growth forests within 10 years.
He says the old-growth stands vital to the Haida as they need the big cedar and spruce for totem poles, building canoes, fruit and bark.
"There's that, but it's also the old growth, it's that connection to the forest, to the supernatural beings in the forest," said Auchter. "It's just that all our culture is all rooted there, and no matter how much we feel that we've lost, because we've lost a lot because of smallpox and everything, and the loss of our language fluency, in terms of the majority of the population speaking Haida, like those are big things that connect culture.
"But the stories and the new stories are still out there, just like the opening quote in the film; they're still in the same place that our predecessors found them. They're still there. The supernatural beings are still there. That's what the Haida, we're fighting for, for our culture and for that way of life, and being able to connect with the land that sustained us for so long."
He says that a second or third-growth forest is different from old-growth, and they can never regain the old growth in their lifetimes. It takes generations to form, and heavy clearcut logging is unnatural in the environment. Only humans cause it. Natural losses such as forest fires look very different from clearcut logging.
This film is essential for its authentic representation of a crucial moment in Indigenous rights activism. Auchter believes it addresses a story that cinema has often overlooked. Very few short films have been made on Lyell Island, and those that exist use familiar, repetitive clips. For this film he drew from more than 100 hours of never-before-seen archival clips and used them with a fresh perspective.
Including late journalist Jack Webster adds complexity to the narrative, and he says a surprise figure [not revealed] will enhance its depth for the viewers.
Auchter is also excited to show people another side of the Haida people. Several personal clips and candid insider conversations are recorded from groups of youngsters and Elders from that period. He says there are typical things for which the Haida are known, such as their unique style of carving, their supernatural beings, their weaving, and their mastery of building canoes.
"Or you get to see the dance performance, the mask on, and the dance moves, and then the curtains drop, and you don't get to see beyond that, right? So, now the curtain is up, and you get to see what happens behind and that, and away from the performances, and they're just them, and we get to see the beauty of that," he said.
The audience will be on the road with the Haida, peeking through a window and seeing what they talk and laugh about in reality.
"We like to joke and tease each other," Auchter said. "We like to tell and listen to stories. We like to visit each other's homes, just pop in and say hi, no phone call necessary. Just pop in and say hi, have coffee, tea, treats and dinners... and like the the teasing and some of the humour is maybe a little bit, some might say it's like, toilet type of humour... but anyway..."
His favourites are the humorous names they keep in their culture for mystical beings, such as "Good-for-nothing Martin" and the "Greatest Fool."
"So this will give a unique perspective into what it is to be Haida and how we interact with each other. And I think there's a lot of gentleness throughout this film. And I think that might be surprising," he said.
Auchter has a special song in the film, performed by the community, but he hasn't shared clips of it outside the film. He wants the audience to experience it for the first time in the theatre and hopefully be blown away by its beauty.
He wishes that people who watch the film take away the gentleness of the dispute with them.
"I hope it's that understanding that to have your voice heard, it doesn't have to be through violence, and that's with all parties included, it does not have to be through violence. And I hope that resonates, and I hope that people can see that we don't have to turn to fists and weapons to make a point."
