An incoming rush of gold and copper mines in British Columbia could threaten to sabotage some of the last fantastic salmon rivers left in the world , as well as the autochthonal peoples who have used the waterways for centuries .
loads of excavation companies are seeking permission from the government of British Columbia to formulate some of the world ’s largest gold mines along the transboundary river that flow from Canada into southeast Alaska , including the Taku , Stikine , and Unuk Rivers .
These river hold a huge ethnical import to the Southeast Alaska Tribes . They also have an enormous ecologic value , serve as the home of five wild Pacific salmon species and playact as a cornerstone for the wider complex ecosystem that include black bear , brown bears , grey Wolf , and other wildlife .
The SEITC says future mining operations could negatively impact the Unuk River in Alaska.Image credit: Sonia Luokkala/Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission
To force back against the architectural plan , a consortium of 15 Tribes from the region is requesting a intermission on " reckless mining activity " in the realm . In a letter to the Inter - American Commission on Human Rights , the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission ( SEITC ) contend that the threat of minelaying upstream dishonor their rights to culture , forcible health and well - being , think of of subsistence , and property .
Together with Re : savage and Earthjustice , they are call on the Canadian governing to fulfil its duty to consult them on all development decisions impacting their traditional territories .
“ We have been doing everything we can to engage the Canadian government in this process , giving them the opportunity to interrupt their ongoing compound legacy , and recognize our sovereign right , ” Rob Sanderson Jr. , SEITC frailty - president , said in astatement .
“ We are the guardians of some of the last tempestuous place leave in the reality not yet exploit by the extractive manufacture , but without our rightfield make out , we can not do this , ” enunciate Sanderson .
One of the crowing potential projects is theEskay Creek Revitalization Projectin British Columbia , an open mine Hell that assure to produce just about 3.7 million tonnes per twelvemonth of gold and silver - bearing ore .
As alluring as it may fathom , the sound challenge argue similar mine have severely impacted humans , wildlife , and waterways . It mention astudythat looked into the Mount Polley mine tragedy in 2014 when a shadowing decametre failed in British Colombia , exposing the local invertebrates to potentially toxic metals . They point toanother studythat shows how tailings dams , even if they do n’t catastrophically flush it , can induce long - lasting changes to the water and sediment chemistry for hundreds of mile .
As far as the SEITC and other friend are worry , the future of mining on the transboundary river reckon on whether the government want to put net income in front of people and the planet .
“ Canada ’s decision unconditionally silence those of us who have occupy and stewarded these watersheds for tens of grand of years , long before the colonial margin was found . Canada is putting companies and profit over the right of its neighbor who are separated only by a colonial border , ” summate Lee Wagner , SEITC assistant executive theater director , who is Tsimshian , Haida , and Łingít .
“ countenance ’s be clear : this is a decease sentence for our right and way of spirit , the water on which we look , and the wildlife with which we partake our home , ” Wagner said .
