In a case that highlights the complex intersection of Indigenous rights, environmental activism, and the Canadian legal system, land defender and Green Party deputy leader Angela Davidson, continues her legal battle after being sentenced to jail for her role in the Fairy Creek forest protests. 

Davidson, also known as Rainbow Eyes, a member of the Da’naxda’xw First Nation from northern Vancouver Island, and is the current Green Party’s candidate for the Northwest Territories, was sentenced to 51 days in jail by the B.C. Court of Appeal last week. However, she was released just 24 hours after being taken into custody on April 10th as her legal team filed an application to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In a statement on Thursday, the Green Party says it stands by Davidson. “As Rainbow Eyes is a nominated candidate for the Northwest Territories, the Green Party of Canada is honoured to have a courageous Indigenous land defender as deputy leader.”

The sentence stems from Davidson’s participation in the Fairy Creek protests between 2021 and 2022, where more than 1100 people were arrested for defying court orders that were aimed at protecting logging operations. Davidson was convicted of seven separate offences between May 2021 and January 2022, where she violated various court and bail orders as part of her commitment to protecting the ancient forest.

Her lawyer, Benjamin Isitt, who has represented Davidson for the past two and a half years, explained the recent developments in the case. “She was sentenced by Chief Justice Hinkson of the B.C. Supreme Court. Yesterday, that sentence was thrown out,” Isitt said. 

The appeal court then conducted its own analysis and reduced her sentence from 60 to 51 days, agreeing that the sentencing judge had erred, but said jail time was necessary to “discourage” others from taking similar actions, according to last week’s decision by Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten. 

Isitt, who describes his practice as focused on “environmental and social justice law” with “a particular focus on Indigenous land defenders and others who are protecting the lands and waters,” intends to appeal the sentence to the Supreme Court of Canada.

When asked about the grounds for the appeal, Isitt explained they will argue that the appeal court did not give enough weight to the Gladue factors that have played a role in her life and role as an Indigenous land guardian. The Court, he said, “didn’t properly account for her lower moral culpability arising from her circumstances as a land guardian.”

Gladue reports are specialized pre-sentencing reports for Indigenous offenders that can include the impacts of colonialism, not just for the individual, but also for the family and wider community. Despite having two completed reports for Davidson (one in 2022 and another in 2024), Isitt argues that the judges erred in how they applied these considerations to Davidson’s sentence.

While Davidson was initially held at the Alouette Correctional Center for women in Maple Ridge, Isitt was confident she would be released on bail.

The appeals process could be lengthy, with Isitt estimating that getting permission to appeal could take five to six months, and if granted, the appeal itself could take up to another year.

At the heart of Davidson’s defense is the recognition of her Indigenous identity and responsibilities. “The Gladue arguments are all based on that in terms of Rainbow’s obligations arising from her Indigenous identity as a person and her specific obligation as a land guardian, who was trained in accordance with customs, and then trained under the colonial system at Vancouver Island University,” Isitt explained.

When asked about his broader perspective on Indigenous land defenders navigating the legal system, Isitt emphasized that “the court needs to give proper effect to Indigenous laws in dealing with allegations of breaching court orders.” He added that “much more action needs to be taken to reconcile Indigenous laws with the colonial laws.”

Despite the challenges, Isitt sees some progress, noting that the reduction in Davidson’s sentence from 60 to 51 days and the Court of Appeal’s willingness to vacate the decision of the former Chief Justice represent small steps forward.

The system does not acknowledge Indigenous rights

After being released from her brief incarceration, Davidson shared her experiences and reflections. 

“There’s a lot of stress,” she acknowledged, when asked about how she was coping with the prolonged legal battle. Despite this, she maintains a positive outlook on the progress of her case: “It’s good that we got time off of our last sentence from the B.C. Court of Appeals, but we still know that the sentencing obviously was too harsh, and we feel that the Gladue report and everything that was brought to trial from our witnesses wasn’t acknowledged.”

Davidson points to what she sees as systemic issues regarding how Indigenous defendants are treated in the Canadian legal system. “The crown, they aren’t acknowledging the rights of Indigenous people in the courtroom, like they say they are. They’re actually going the opposite and cracking down, and that was evident with my entire court proceedings,” she explained.

The experience of incarceration, even for a short period, was difficult, she said. “To be sitting in a cell, even for 24 hours, to go in and be strip-searched, to be treated like a criminal,” she said, before taking a moment to also express empathy for the other women incarcerated at Alouette Correctional Center. 

“By the way, the women in the Alouette Women’s Correctional Center, they aren’t criminals. They’re good girls, they’re good women. The whole system is screwed up… the fact that any land defender needs to sit in a cell for standing up for the forest and Mother Earth is so wrong.”

To prepare mentally for the challenges she faced, Davidson traveled to Peru before her trial began. “I knew this was coming and I just had to get to Peru. I had to get to the forest and the jungle,” she explained. “The last four years, like, unscrewed me. It just totally unscrewed me.” This journey allowed her to “reground” herself through ceremony and plant medicine, reconnecting to her spiritual roots.

On the future of the land defense movement, Davidson emphasized the need for community solidarity. “I think it’s so important that everybody knows that the Rainbow Nation (prophecy) is happening. The fact that we have to stand up, we have to support each other, we have to hold each other’s hands right now more than ever. And we are doing it.”

Davidson, who serves as an elected counselor for her nation, draws strength from her training as a land guardian and her reconnection with her traditional territory. “It all just unfolded so beautifully. The training, becoming a land guardian, going back to our traditional territory and reconnecting — it all helped build the foundation, a very good, solid foundation for what we’re doing,” she reflected.

Interestingly, Davidson revealed that her nation successfully convinced Teal Jones — the same company involved in the Fairy Creek dispute — to halt operations in their territory. “We found out like a year and a half ago that Teal Jones actually had one of the biggest cut blocks we had ever seen in Knight Inlet in my traditional territory,” she explained. Unlike at Fairy Creek, however, the company agreed to leave after just one meeting with the nation’s council, which stands united on protecting their territory.

Despite these successes, Davidson acknowledged that her nation faces internal challenges. “Our nation is deeply divided,” she shared, noting that colonial governance structures like chief and council have undermined hereditary systems. However, she sees progress: “Now we’ve kind of figured it out and we are working together, so it is good.”

A mother’s perspective

Liz Davidson, Angela’s mother, shared the emotional toll of watching her daughter go through the legal system. During the recent court appearance, Angela was held in a cell rather than allowed in the courtroom for her sentencing.

“We arrived at the courthouse with her and they said, ‘We have to take you to a holding cell,'” Liz explained. “That’s what I don’t understand. Why wasn’t she in the courtroom to hear what was being read?” Unlike previous hearings, where the family had been in court together, this time they couldn’t even see Angela’s reaction to the sentence.

For Liz, watching her daughter be criminalized for protecting the land is particularly painful. “There is something seriously wrong,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. “She’s defending Mother Earth and she gets put in jail with criminals. You know, there’s something wrong with our system.”

She struggled to hold back tears as she spoke about her daughter’s situation.

“I think she’s (Davidson) a leader. She has taught both her parents a lot. We look at things differently because of her. I mean, how many parents can say that about their children? She’s opened our eyes.”

When asked about the source of Angela’s dedication to land protection, Liz responded that it has always been an inherent part of who she is. “She’s always been like that. It comes from her heart. It’s in her.”

Throughout her ordeal, Davidson said she has been sustained by the memory of what she and her fellow land defenders were fighting for. 

“I went back to the first arrest and I remember, because we will never forget why so many of us decided to get arrested in the first place — what we’re standing for,” she reflected. “That community that we found in Fairy Creek, standing and living and breathing for something so much bigger than anybody had ever experienced before… it was such a gift, what we all experienced at Fairy Creek. That’s what we have to fight for, every single day for the rest of our lives.”