The Story
Indigenous Peoples lived within relational accountability systems refined over thousands of years. In Gitxsan territory, this is known as ayook. These systems were built on deep interconnections and communal responsibility, ensuring that every individual was held in care and consequence by their kin.
Colonialism violently disrupted those systems, attempting to sever our connections to the land and to each other. In the wake of this forced isolation and systemic harm, lateral violence emerged—a painful legacy where hurt is directed toward our own people rather than the structures of oppression.
The Cedar Campaign breaks that silence. We believe that lateral trust is not just a feeling, but a practice we build together, every day, by reclaiming our original ways of being and holding ourselves accountable to one another with care.
Why Cedar
Cedar is traditional medicine. It heals and builds. Cedar trees were alive before contact; they remember what trust looked like. By wearing the cedar, we reconnect with that ancient memory of relational accountability.
Where This Began
Founded by Gabby Hillis—a member of the Gitxsan Nation and Kispiox Band (Anspayaxw)—The Cedar Campaign is deeply rooted in the heart of the Kispiox Valley, BC. Her work is a testament to the ancestral systems of relational accountability that have sustained Indigenous Peoples for thousands of years, systems built on transparency and careful communication.
The initiative is housed within the Cedar Campaign Society, an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization serving communities across British Columbia. We operate as a vessel for reclaiming lateral trust, ensuring that our relational practices, governance, and daily interactions are held in service to long-term healing and collective accountability.