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Rita Wong lives, writes and works in unceded Coast Salish territories (Vancouver) and teaches at Emily Carr University of Art & Design. Her books of poetry such as Beholden: A Poem as Long as a River (with Fred Wah & the Columbia River) and perpetual (with artist Cindy Mochizuki) are dedicated to questions of water, ecosystem, and climate justice within commitments to decolonial, Indigenous-led relational ethics. She is frequently out standing with local Indigenous peoples to protect lands and waters and was arrested in August 2018 and served jail time for peacefully blocking access to the TransMountain facility at the Westridge Marine terminal. Her statement from her court hearing reads in part, “Our ceremony that morning was an act of spiritual commitment, of prayer, of artistic expression, of freedom of expression, an act of desperation in the face of climate crisis, an act of allegiance with the earth’s natural laws, and a heartfelt attempt to prevent mass extinction of the human race. . . we can all learn from natural law and Coast Salish law that we have a reciprocal relationship with the land; and that we all have a responsibility to care for the land’s health, which is ultimately our health too.”