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First Nation puts up blockade |
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Written by GORDON HOEKSTRA
Citizen staff
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Friday, 20 June 2008 |
The Takla Lake First Nation says it has put up a blockade on a forest service road to the east of its community in northern B.C. to stop an unprecedented wave of mineral exploration on its traditional territory.
"Our territory has been flooded with tenures awarded to industry with no proper consultation and no accommodation," said Takla Lake chief Dolly Abraham.
The Takla Lake Band, which is located about 150 kilometres north of Fort St. James, is pointing the finger at the province's new online mineral staking system, saying it is responsible for a new gold rush.
The band says there is so much activity, it doesn't even know exactly who is working on their traditional territory, 250 kilometres to the northwest of Prince George.
The blockade has been set up at the 71-kilometre market of the Driftwood Forest Service Road, which is a main road access north along Takla Lake. The band says it is allowing private citizens with land holdings in the area to pass through the checkpoint.
Abraham, and two band councillors, Victor West and Kathaleigh George, pointed to the example of Bear Mountain, another 100 kilometres north of their community, saying it's a sacred area that should be off limits to mining.
West said the area is home to spawning salmon and is an important moose calving site, as well as being used for collecting berries and hunting wildlife. "It's very vital to us," he said.
The site is an area where Imperial Metals has been doing some exploration work, including drilling six holes, using helicopters to supply the mountain site. The company had wanted to build a road to the site, but the band is against that.
Imperial Metals is not currently working on the site.
Company president Brian Kynoch said he was under the impression the Takla Lake First Nation did not want to talk to the company until the band had worked out some kind of arrangement with the province.
Kynoch said the company actually has a permit to build the road, but didn't go ahead because the First Nation didn't want the road.
"We're completely willing to have a meeting with them," said Kynoch. "If (this road block) is specifically targeted at us, we're not doing any work, so take it down. We'll call them before we do any work," he said.
The First Nation says it has also been frustrated in trying to negotiate a land use plan and revenue-sharing agreement with the provincial government. "If we don't take action now, the government will hand over our whole territory to mining and forestry companies, and there will nothing left for our children," said Abraham.
The band also points to a poor legacy of mining history, noting the former Bralorne mine in their traditional territory, a mercury mine that operated for just two years, has not been cleaned up. It's on the province's list of priority clean-up sites.
Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell said he was disappointed by the Takla Lake band's move, saying he believe it was uncalled for. Bell, the MLA for Prince George North, has been involved in a number of land-use planning agreements with First Nations, including on Haida Gwaii.
He said he has been talking to the Takla Lake band, trying to come up with some kind of agreement, as well as the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, an umbrella organization that includes the Takla Lake band. Bell said that the concept of a single-window mining consultation office has been raised, as well as the idea of land-use agreements and how they might look.
"I think people need to understand we're trying to make this all work for First Nations and for industry, and there's a balance to be had," he said. "But I think that establishing road blocks isn't particularly helpful for the type of relationship people are looking to build here."
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )
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