News

February 26, 2007 (Victoria, B.C.) – B.C.’s northern mining boom is threatening small First Nations communities and the land they depend upon. That’s the message two women from the Tahltan First Nation are delivering in Victoria today, at an event scheduled to coincide with Mining Day at the BC Legislature.

More than half a dozen mines and a major coalbed methane gas field are proposed for Tahltan Territory in Northwest BC, many in an area known as the Sacred Headwaters – the shared birthplace of BC’s Nass, Skeena and Stikine Rivers.

“Our people want a future, good jobs and to protect our lands and culture for generations to come. We can do this by developing one resource development project at a time in the right location,” said Rhoda Quock, spokesperson and chair of the Iskut Elders organization Klabona Keepers.

The Klabona Keepers have blockaded mining road access to a portion of their territory for the past two years. Their September 2005 blockade resulted in the arrest of nine elders and six supporters. A Tahltan-imposed moratorium caused Shell Canada to cancel its coalbed methane drilling program in the Sacred Headwaters two years in a row.

“The Iskut and Tahltan communities are having difficulty coping with the problems associated with the existing mines,” said Iskut Community Liaison Eileen Doody. “For all of the proposed projects to go ahead would mean nothing less than cultural genocide. Our land, our Tahltan people and the wildlife would be devastated.”

Quock and Doody will present a slideshow on the impacts of mining on northern communities tonight at St. Ann’s Academy Auditorium in Victoria (835 Humboldt St.). The free event begins at 7:00 p.m.

Hosted by several mining organizations, Mining Day is described as an “opportunity to raise awareness of the BC mining industry, to share goals and concerns with other members of the industry and to foster an ongoing working relationship with elected officials and staff.”

Contact:
Rhoda Quock: (250) 631-7143
Or call: (250) 896-3627
More information at www.sacredheadwaters.com