Kanahus Manuel has been called many names — a political activist, a pipeline protestor, a tiny house warrior, a freedom fighter, a traditional birth keeper, a tattoo artist, a land and water defender. But Manuel, also a granddaughter, daughter and sister, identifies herself first and foremost as a mother.

In a phone interview, Manuel's voice sounds as strong and ancient as the land she has dedicated her life to protecting. But her words also reveal a tender heart.

"People can judge the tactics, what our people are doing, but we know what we’re doing is right when we say we’re standing here to protect our children’s water and for those yet unborn. That’s our tribal law," she tells me. "As women we know it, because we birth these babies."

It is with this motherly power that Manuel continues to fight day in and out, to protect her traditional territories, her people’s rights to these territories and the rights of all Indigenous peoples. Manuel has never stood alone in the struggle — she grew up with some strong teachers.

Manuel's grandfather George Manuel was the president of the National Indian Brotherhood, now the Assembly of First Nations and one of the co-founders of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples, dedicated to the recognition of Indigenous rights worldwide. Manuel's father, Arthur Manuel wrote The Reconciliation Manifesto and Unsettling Canada and started the Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade organization.

Kanahus Manuel grew up learning about her Secwepemc tribal laws and the Canadian government's laws.

She has made news in recent weeks and months due to her opposition to the troubled Trans Mountain oil pipeline and tanker expansion project.

I managed to get a hold of Manuel, where she was sitting surrounded by three of four of her children in one of the mobile tiny homes camped out near Blue River, a small B.C. community surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, halfway between Kamloops and Jasper. I asked her about her recent arrest, an upcoming Kinder Morgan shareholders meeting regarding the government's offer to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline assets on Aug. 30, the main reasons she is opposed to the tanker expansion project and whether she has hope for the future.

Here’s what she had to say.