A key figure in the Gustafsen Lake standoff has passed away.
William Jones Ignace, known as Wolverine, spent five years in jail for his role in the incident that took place in 1995 when several First Nations protesters occupied a piece of land near 100 Mile House they said was sacred and part of a tract of unceded territory.
“He leaves with us a great legacy of Indigenous Resistance, Struggle and Victory. He is widely respected and loved, not only by his family, community and Secwepemc Nation but throughout the World as well. Wolverine lit the fires of Freedom in the hearts and spirits of countless Peoples fighting for Indigenous Lives, Lands and Rights,” stated the Ts’Peten Defence Committee in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“Wolverine sincerely expressed a deep will for the Peoples to continue the important and crucial work in fighting for our unceded Secwepemc Territory, including the demand for a National Inquiry into the siege at Gustafsen Lake…”
Ignace was 84 years old.