News

BC Supreme Court Injunction Hearing against Tahltan and Iskut People Fighting to Save the Sacred Headwaters

For Immediate release—Friday November 11, 2005
Iskut, BC (Tahltan Territory)— Tahltan are looking forward to their day in court when Fortune Minerals seeks a one year extension of their injunction against Tahltan trying to protect the Scared Headwaters of the Stikine, Skeena and Nass rivers. Corporate rights to conduct mineral exploration activities at the Sacred Headwaters will be pitted against aboriginal rights, within the traditional lands of the Iskut people, on Monday in the BC Supreme Court in Vancouver.

In mid September, 13 Iskut elders and supporters were arrested and charged with contempt for violating Fortune Minerals’ injunction by standing on the road accessing the Sacred Headwaters. The contempt of court charges were dropped on October 28 by Fortune Minerals to avoid negative publicity of respected Tahltan and Iskut elders being hauled off to jail for standing up for their rights. On November 1, dozens of Tahltan made their ongoing opposition known to Fortune Minerals President Robin Goad, at forum the in Terrace BC.

An extension of the injunction for a year won’t discourage the fight to protect the Sacred Headwaters of three great salmon rivers. Six Northern First Nations recently supported the Tahltan in their fight, calling for “free, prior, and informed consent” before any new developments in their nearby regions as well.

The New Relationship between the BC government and Northern First Nations is rapidly deteriorating, as Fortune Minerals prepares to once again to use and occupy Tahltan traditional hunting camps and traplines, without indigenous peoples informed consent. Meanwhile the Tahltan and Iskut people claim title to the Sacred Headwaters since time immemorial.

The BC Provincial Government previously stated it intends to stay out of internal First Nations politics, however Minister of Mines Bill Bennett is choosing to back the Tahltan Central Council, a provincially registered society claiming to represent the Tahltan nation despite opposition from its own directors. On November 9th, Minister Bennett acknowledged his government gave the Tahltan Central Council $150,000 in August to develop its own ways of handling the dispute.

On November 9th, 2005, Iskut Band members elected Marie Quock as it’s first woman Chief, in a runoff against two other Iskut women also standing up for their land. “If we have a choice, I would rather not see any development in the Klappan. This area is sacred to us because it is where we do all our cultural and traditional activities,” said Chief Quock. “We utilize the sacred headwaters in the winter and summer. This is where our children have the knowledge passed on to them. They learn everything in the camps including hunting, trapping medicinal value of plants, and the oral history from our elders,” said Chief Quock.

The Sept 16, 2005 arrests, were only partly due to the activities of Fortune Minerals. Shell Canada also wants to explore coalfields in the Sacred Headwaters for methane gas. CN proposes to extend a railroad into the region. BC Hydro is looking at new electrical transmissionline routes. An industrial haul road is proposed along salmon streams to ship mineral concentrates to the Port of Stewart BC. “ All this while the province seeks to divide and conquer our nation”, said Rhoda Quock. “Fortune Minerals has had the bad fortune to be caught in the middle of a government dispute called a new relationship.”

However, indigenous Tahltan and Iskut mothers and grandmothers as strong matriarchal leaders are pushing back against this unsustainable pace of development. The Sacred Headwaters will always remain sacred to those who prefer a lifestyle dependent upon the salmon, moose and the birth place of a place called home.

For more information contact:

Marie Quock, Chief of the Iskut Band Council 250-234-3331
Rhoda Quock, additional contact person 250-234-3023; peterandrhoda@yt.sympatico.ca

Media website photo gallery www.sacredheadwaters.com