Birthday of Wolverine (William Jones Ignace)
Feb. 16, 1932
Wolverine, center, at the camp on unceded Native territory 1995
Best known as a leader of the 1995 Gustafsen Lake standoff, Wolverine was a Secwepemc Elder, logger, trapper, fisherman and farmer. He spent five years in jail for his role in the sovereignty struggle at Gustafsen Lake, with the Tsʼpeten Defenders. Fondly remembered for disabling an APC, he was well versed in the law and a life long advocate for Indigenous sovereignty in his home territory and far beyond.
His widow Flora Sampson, remembers him, “He fought for our rights all his life, he knew the law, he studied law. He fought for our rights ever since I met him in 1970. I met him and both of us stood for our rights fighting for housing, our land, our resources, our salmon, burial grounds and fighting against the pipelines”
His widow Flora Sampson, remembers him, “He fought for our rights all his life, he knew the law, he studied law. He fought for our rights ever since I met him in 1970. I met him and both of us stood for our rights fighting for housing, our land, our resources, our salmon, burial grounds and fighting against the pipelines”