[IPSM] Tl'azt'en Nation statement

[Macdonald Stainsby]

 Tl'azt'en Nation

S t a t e m e n t

Mercury-Laden mining Waste spills into Pinchi lake, provincial chief mine
inspector downplays itS SIGNIFICANCE; tl'azt'en First Nation issues a
moratorium on new mining activity in their traditional territory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tl'azt'en Traditional Territory, Tache, B.C. (February 21, 2005) - We feel
it's a disgrace that a tailings pond can spill its mercury-laden waste
into a lake and somehow this is "not expected to hurt the water quality,"
as the province's chief inspector of mines, Fred Hermann, said in a news
report out of Prince George last week.

How could this be?

Mr. Fred Hermann, the province's chief mine inspector, indicated that the
dam break, which occurred on or about November 30 of last year, saw
anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 cubic metres of rock, dirt and waste water
spill into the lake. This amount is equivalent to about two Olympic-sized
swimming pools. According to Mr. Hermann, the material was "benign" and
"inert" when compared to what existed there before. If so, this is truly
tragic, yet very telling, as it indicates that there are at least two
stories here.

One is the dam failure itself, which to our knowledge is the second time.
The other is the historic treatment of this lake by Teck Cominco, where
over time untold amounts of mercury-related toxins were released into it.

This 5500 hectare lake is located about 50 kilometers from Tache, the
Tl'azt'en First Nation's main village. It supports a variety of fish,
mostly lake trout, whitefish, and rainbow trout.

For countless centuries the fish and the surrounding wildlife have
sustained our people's excellent health and well-being, including our
relatives in Nak'azdli. But after the mercury mine opened in the 1940's,
and again in 1970's, appalling things began happening to our people's
health. We now know this is because of past mining activities, which have
tainted the fish with mercury. To better understand this, I invite you and
anyone else to our village to listen to our story of how this beautiful
lake was ruined by mining. And this was before the recent spill. Now what
can we expect because of it?  We still have many questions that the
government and the company haven't provided answers to.

We want this lake back to its former health and productivity. As it is,
even popular sport fishing publications warn people not to eat the fish
because they are contaminated with mercury. We feel it is only appropriate
to be directly involved in all activities that will rehabilitate this
lake. Therefore, we will be seeking out meaningful consultation and
accommodation from the company and government on this issue. Meanwhile, to
date, both have not been forthcoming with information, except for reports
that were completed without our involvement.

Until these issues are properly dealt with, the Tl'azt'en Nation has
issued a moratorium on new mining activities in our territory. This
position is consistent with other first nations across the province,
contending that the B.C. mining industry has much to account for before
making further incursions into their territories.

- 30-

For more information, contact Chief Thomas Alexis, Tl'azt'en Nation, at
250-648-3212.

Backgrounder

Tl'azt'en Nation - "people by the edge of the bay" - is a First Nation
situated in north -central British Columbia. We know ourselves as Dakelh
("we travel by water") but when Europeans first arrived here, they called
us `Carrier Indians.' Our language, Dakelh, is part of what is called the
Athapaskan language group.

Prior to contact, our traditional territory covered a vast area along
Stuart Lake running up the Tache River almost to Takla Lake to the north.
The Keyoh (land) was managed by family units and the family head
controlled the hunting, fishing and gathering in his Keyoh. It was not
until the late 1800's that Tl'azt'enne began to gather in central
communities in response to the fur-trade and the dictates of the Roman
Catholic Church.

The present population of Tl'azt'en Nation is around 1300. Approximately
800 people live in one of the communities of Tache, Binche, Dzitl'ainli,
or K'uzche. Tache, the largest of the communities, is situated 65 km north
of Fort St. James at the mouth of the Tache River on Stuart Lake. Binche
is twenty-five km from Fort St. James and is at the mouth of the Binche
river, which drains Binche Lake (Pinchi Lake) into Stuart Lake.
Dzitl'ainli is on Leo Creek road along side Trembleur Lake. K'uzche is on
the Tache River.

The main administrative offices are in Tache, as are the elementary
school, daycare, Head Start, health and RCMP offices.

It is our goal to have our culture and language integrated into all
aspects of our education from daycare to high school. Over the years we
have trained our people to work in our daycare, Head Start and our
community-based elementary school. We are presently working to preserve
and digitize and promote our language, stories and cultural practices so
that they will form our curriculum. Our elders are helping us in our
effort to reinstate and perpetuate our language and culture before it is
all lost.

Our people still live off the land. We hunt moose, deer, bear, caribou,
mountain goats, and small fur bearing animals. We set nets for salmon,
whitefish, trout, kokanee, spring salmon, and lingcod. We still go to our
camp grounds in the summer time and gather food for winter storage.

See: www.tlc.baremetal.com

--
Macdonald Stainsby
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
In the contradiction lies the hope.
--Brecht.