Molly Wickham will learn today whether she is headed to prison for her part in defending Wet’suwet’en lands and waters from the Coastal GasLink pipeline, back in 2021.

Crown prosecutors are seeking a 30-day sentence for the mother of three, who holds the name Sleydo’ and serves as a wing chief in the Gidemt’en (bear and wolf) clan.

The province’s lawyers say the court must send a message to other Indigenous leaders tempted to defy the oil and gas industry, or the Crown’s claim to their territories.

With American investors considering another massive gas pipeline through neighbouring Gitxsan territory, the B.C. government appears eager to crack down on opponents.

Mohawk musician Corey Jocko and Gitxsan youth Shay Lynn Sampson also face jail time after they were arrested by RCMP tactical teams brandishing a chainsaw, axe and assault rifles.

Lawyers for the defendants argue that police behaviour during the raids, coupled with time already served in pre-trial detention, should result in a conditional discharge.

But citing recent prison sentences handed to Indigenous land defenders arrested at Fairy Creek and Trans Mountain pipeline protests, prosecutors urged the judge to continue the trend.

Watched closely by Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan chiefs and matriarchs sitting in the courtroom, Justice Michael Tammen acknowledged his dilemma.

Although he has already found the trio guilty of contempt of a court injunction, Tammen pointed out the Supreme Court of Canada’s recognition of title and rights held by the Wet’suwet’en.

The chiefs, including those witnessing the sentencing hearing, were never properly consulted and denied consent for the pipeline route across what Tammen called “unceded territory”.

Tammen will decide today what he considers a “fit sentence” for actions Sleydo’ says were her responsibility as a member of the Wet’suwet’en traditional government, evicting trespassers.