Roxanne Boyle

Roxanne is working to create an art show fundraiser and photobook about the Fairy Creek blockade. Through photography, they aim to bring awareness to the environmental destruction, as well as the activism and community-building that is taking place at Ada'itsx so-called Fairy Creek (FC) on Vancouver Island. The summer of 2020 saw the beginning of the ongoing protests that are actively blocking industry from logging part of the last 1% of ancient old-growth in so-called Canada. In 2021 Roxanne spent four months living on this sacred land that is recognized as FC. She plans to return in the summer of 2022 to continue learning indigenous ways and photographing the experiences of the protestors in the blockade. The land is an unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Pacheedaht and Ditidaht peoples. The movement is indigenous-led, and the protestors are welcomed guests of Elder Bill Jones. 

In April of 2022, Roxanne, along with the FC community in Montreal, curated, organized, and displayed their work at an art show fundraiser for Ada'itsx. The event was a huge success, showcasing a talk from Indigenous activist and Chef Marlene Hale, who brought homemade bannock and presented her experiences as a land defender. In the evening, there was a viewing of the film Ada'itsx Fairy Creek Diary (available to watch on Vimeo) by documentarian and activist Yellow Cedar. Other artwork included: photographs by Raccoon and Ozzy portraying camp life, blockaders (protestors), and landscapes; an audio project by Hula that compiled camp songs, interviews of BIPOC voices, and conversations with Pacheedaht Elder Bill Jones;  a short film by Raccoon, which juxtaposed footage of peaceful camp life with the brutality of the police; and poems presented alongside preserved lichen, cedar, and moss from FC by Saturn. The fundraiser raised over $800, which went directly to the Indigenous front-line defenders for supplies such as food, gas money, and camping equipment. Equally as valuable, the show started many discussions around the importance of Land Back movements and informed unaware attendees about the situation at Ada'itsx here in so-called Canada.  

This experience of curating and co-organizing an art exhibition has helped Roxanne gain confidence and expand their knowledge in the following areas: time management; organizing meetings; creating week-by-week schedules and deadlines for the art show; coordinating speakers, artists, equipment and space-booking; and working in a team environment, talking through conflict and using active listening to attain set goals.

This summer, Roxanne will return to Ada'itsx and continue to photograph the community with the goal of creating an environmentally conscious photo book with locally sourced materials as part of an independent study with professor Chich-Chien Wang. The photo book will consist of images she has taken over the past two years at the blockade, along with scanned diary entries written by forest defenders about their time at FC. The aim of the book is to build an archive of the blockade with the inclusion of as many voices as possible in order to emulate the diversity of the people and experiences of FC.

Throughout this project, Roxanne has constantly been working with the challenges of ever-changing group dynamics and politics at FC. When is it appropriate to photograph? Who is it appropriate to photograph? What is appropriate to photograph? How does one keep individuals’ identities safe while still photographing, documenting, and creating an archive for the future of a very important social justice movement? By learning through mistakes and continuing to have open conversations around these subjects, Roxanne is working through these challenges.   

Living in the community of Ada'itsx has taught Roxanne tools to decolonize themself and their practice, as well as ways of living in reciprocity with the earth.

This article was written by Roxanne Boyle and edited by Juan Espana.