Image By Sam Beebe
Protecting Haida Gwaii
One of David Suzuki’s most important successes was in protecting Haida Gwaii, an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada.
In the 1970s, a group of First Nations, Haida people, and environmentalists were horrified at the logging being done on the islands in Haida Gwaii. They demanded the British Columbia government to protect crucial areas of Haida Gwaii from clear-cut logging. This was the beginning of the fight against logging in the archipelago.
In 1982, David was hosting CBC’s documentary series The Nature of Things when he received a handwritten note from a member of the parliament, who suggested for him to do a programme on the logging situation in Haida Gwaii, particularly on the Windy Bay area.
Realizing the importance of the issue, David and his production team flew to Haida Gwaii to conduct interviews and meet with the locals to film the program. There, he met Guujaw, a young Haida carver, who is also the leader against logging in Windy Bay.
In their interview, Guujaw explained to David why it is important to him that the land of the Haida is preserved:
“Our people have determined that Windy Bay and other areas must be left in their natural condition so that we keep our identity and pass it on to the following generations. The forests, those oceans, are what keep us as Haida people today.”
(David Suzuki: An Autobiography)
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This interview changed the way David perceived his relationship with the environment. It was the first time he saw the environment as joining seamlessly with his identity, not something distinct from himself.
The Nature of Things program on Windy Bay was aired in the same year and garnered more letters in response than any other episode had.
Outcomes of the program:
- After the program, the South Moresby Resource Planning Team agreed that Windy Bay had to be protected from logging.
- David continued following up with the logging situation in Haida Gwaii. He presented a submission to the Wilderness Advisory Committee in charge of examining the logging camps in Haida Gwaii. As a result, the Committee recommended for 363,000 acres, including Windy Bay, to be set aside as parkland. This was the first step to the victory in the Haida lands.
- In 1987, the government decided to include the land in a park known as “Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site” to be managed by both Parks Canada and the Haida people. It covered almost 600 square miles, about 15% of the islands in Haida Gwaii.
- In July 1987, David was invited to sign the agreement between British Columbia and Canada to create the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve. However, a public confrontation prevented this from happening.
- Finally, in January 1993, the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site agreement was signed, successfully preserving Haida Gwaii from the logging industries.