#Fish Lake (Teztan Biny)

[fatehbaz]

Reactions to the 14 May 2020 ruling defeating major mine in Nemiah Valley and Xeni Gwet’in land on edge of Dasiqox Nexwagwez?an Tribal Park.

Excerpt from Judith Lavoie, for The Narwhal, 15 May 2020:

A lengthy battle pitting the Tsilhqot’in Nation against Taseko Mines Ltd. reached the end of the legal road Thursday with the Supreme Court of Canada denying Taseko the right to appeal the federal government’s rejection of an open pit gold and copper mine in Tsilhqot’in traditional territory, 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.

Celebrations of the victory are underway in Tsilhqot’in communities, but, among the leaders, there are suspicions that although the mine is legally dead, the body is still twitching.

Chief Joe Alphonse, Tsilhqot’in National Government chairman, has long experience of dealing with Taseko and he worries the company will try to keep the mine on its books. “I never count these guys out. … These guys would try to pump oxygen into a dead horse,” he told The Narwhal. [...]

Taseko’s website describes the tenure as “one of Canada’s largest copper-gold projects” containing 5.3 billion pounds of copper and 13.3 million ounces of gold.

The Tsilhqot’in Nation’s fight for control of its territory stretches over the last 30 years, culminating in a landmark 2014 Supreme Court decision that found the Tsilhqot’in hold Aboriginal title to almost 1,800 square kilometres of land — the first such decision in Canada to formally recognize Aboriginal title. But the proposed mine was just outside the title land, in an area where the Tsilhqot’in have the legal right to hunt, trap, fish and trade and that includes Dasiqox Nexwagwez?an Tribal Park, a name which means “there for us.”

Lawsuits, blockades and injunctions have marked the last 12 years as Taseko persisted, despite federal rejection of initial plans for the Prosperity Mine in 2010 and rejection of revamped plans for the New Prosperity Mine in 2014, when the government concluded it would cause irreversible environmental damage. [...]

The death of the mine is particularly sweet for residents of Xeni Gwet’in, in the heart of the Nemiah Valley, as the community is close to Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), a profoundly sacred area where traditional ceremonies are held.

Taseko initially planned to drain the lake and use it as a tailings pond. Then, in the second attempt to win federal approval, the company proposed a tailings pond above the lake and a plan to recirculate the lake water — a concept a federal panel concluded would almost certainly contaminate the lake. [...]

The decision is still sinking in for [Chief Jimmy Lulua of the Xeni Gwet’in] Lulua who wants to see a victory celebration for the communities next week and he is hoping the event can be held at Fish Lake, with appropriate social distancing.

“It would be the ideal place to give people a chance to share their words and share some songs as people have always done,” he said.

“So many people have been involved … The most important people are the elders who carry the stories and carry the legend and carry the direction on how this was going to roll out,” Lulua said.

Alphonse said it is time to reflect on the immense sacrifices of time and money made by Tsilhqot’in communities as they fought the mine. [...]

“B.C. should finally recognize the importance of this area to the Tsilhqot’in and support the Dasiqox Nexwagwez?an. The Nation should never have to face the burden of an industrial threat to this sacred area ever again,” he said.

As the dust settles, Alphonse would also like the province to take a close look at its role in the drawn-out conflict.

The province could have stopped the project by withdrawing the mine’s certificates but, even when the NDP came to power, no action was taken, said Alphonse, who speculates the hesitation was due to concerns that the company could launch a lawsuit.

--

Illustration by Carol Linnitt for The Narwhal.

[pnwpol]

Aug 2, 2019 |  While families wait for salmon, floods wash out roads – and a year-old fire smoulders

Telegraph Creek: the fire that can’t be put out

In July of 2018 Heather Hawkins was newly pregnant with her daughter Katsima. In order to get an ultrasound, she had to make a ten hour drive south from her home of Telegraph Creek in the Tahltan Nation to Terrace. She packed for what she thought would be an eight day trip and set off with her partner and infant daughter, Violet.

While Heather was away, a fire broke out at Alkali Lake, seven kilometers northwest of Telegraph Creek. The next day, someone discovered another fire to the northeast, on the opposite side of the Stikine River.

An estimated 1,200 square kilometers burned, more than 10 times the size of the City of Vancouver. All told, 13,000 square kilometers burned across the province last year. 2018 and 2017 were the two worst years on record in the province’s wildfire history. Symptoms of a changing climate in a country warming twice as fast of the rest of the world.

Coming together as a community has helped the Tahltan people of Telegraph Creek cope and begin to heal. But the fire also left a scar. And now the area is more vulnerable to landslides. That adds another potential threat to annual salmon runs if the Stikine is impassable – as we just saw happen on the Fraser. In the short term, scorched forests push surviving animals like moose, goats, sheep and bears elsewhere to seek shelter and food.

The Chilcotin: when floods follow fires

In April the Tsilhqot’in people released a report entitled “The fires awakened us.” It’s a unique reflection on how the fires simultaneously devastated and galvanized their people. From an outsider’s perspective I took a couple of lessons away that could be applied to most communities: First, people who know their land are best positioned to defend it; Second, in situations like folks in the Chilcotin faced in 2017, where any firefighting effort was going to be overwhelmed, local people know what to prioritize.

Unfortunately this summer the climate crisis returned in a different form. A new phenomenon in the interior is the development of Supercells during the summer. Supercells are unpredictable cloud formations that materialize seemingly out of nowhere. They’re completely different from other weather systems – they don’t move. In mid July one formed over the Chilcotin Plateau and dropped record amounts of rain over vulnerable fire-scarred soil.

Scores of roads and culverts were washed out and bridges were compromised. When the rain stopped, the provincial government prioritized fixing the roads Taseko Mines needed to access its proposed worksite at Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) before roads linking Tsilhqot’in communities.

The Comox Valley: vulnerable salmon, vulnerable economy

 The early season closures which take a Chinook away from a guide and give it to an Orca are meant to stave off the starvation haunting southern resident whales.

I’d wager many people lucky enough to feel the strong tug of a wild coho at the end of their line don’t realize these acrobatic fish spend 18 months in small streams — the very type that nearly dried up this spring. I recorded the impact first hand. My son and I, along with hundreds of volunteers, intervened with traps and nets to move stranded fry and smolts to nearby rivers with reservoirs that can guarantee stream flow. If we hadn’t they would have cooked.

Read More

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The Tsilhqot'in Nation says it will continue to protect what it considers a sacred lake in the central Interior despite a blow from Canada's top court.

The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of a B.C .court ruling allowing Taseko Mine Limited (TML) to proceed with exploratory drilling around Fish Lake — also known as Teztan Biny.

The permit allows TML to proceed with an extensive drilling project that authorizes 76 kilometres of new or modified road and trail to be cleared, along with 122 drill holes, 367 excavated test pits and 20 kilometres of seismic lines near Teztan Biny.

TML has said the drilling is an attempt to prove the lake will not be harmed by a gold and copper mine west of Williams Lake that was approved by the province in 2010, but twice rejected by the federal government.

Chief Joe Alphonse says government and industry cannot be allowed to devastate a place of such spiritual importance, simply for the pursuit of gold.

Continue Reading.

[sparksinthenight]

Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) has been a sacred place of spiritual renewal for countless generations of the Tŝilhqot'in. This beautiful area is integral to the health of the last major Fraser River salmon run. The territory is also rich in gold and copper —  resources ruthless mining companies aim to exploit.

Taseko's New Prosperity Mine was dealt a death blow by the Supreme Court of Canada on May 14, 2020 when it upheld the federal rejection of the mine project. However, Taseko is still pursuing a major exploratory drilling program with provincial approval. The extensive drilling would severely damage Teztan Biny and the surrounding area.The Tŝilhqot'in have launched a civil action against Taseko and B.C. for infringement of  Aboriginal rights. This is the only way Taseko’s exploratory permits can be quashed (voided).

[smallstudiodesign]

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EARTHDANCE: A Global Party for World Peace & The Environment [👈🏼iMovie] • The 21st Annual Earthdance Vancouver 2017 took place #saturday #september 23, 2017 @ #newbrightonpark [unceded #coastsalish territory] #eastvancouver #danceparty
#music + #entertainment by various 🎶 DJ 's: [search #mixcloud #soundcloud 🎶APPs #djmix, unless noted]: 🎶DJ Aerion, 🎶DJ Briden briden.org/music; 🎶DJ EMOG, 🎶DJ Instant Love, 🎶DJ Stargirl Host- MC: Raghunath Khe. Onsite Workshops: * 1-2:30pm: "Healing for World Peace" ~Janeta Jane McNeil; * 1-2:30pm: "Sacred Silliness" ~Willy Lavendel; * 3:30-4:40pm:"Rock Balancing" ~Chris Caron; * 3:30-4:40pm: "Brain Dance Movement: Reset the Brain Move like a NewBorn" ~Adeline Thulliez. ********||******** #party Schedule: * 11am: Opening Ceremony; * 11:30am 🎶DJ EMOG * 1:00pm 🎶 DJ Aerion* (Raghunath Khe); * 2:30pm 🎶DJ Briden * 3:30pm 🎶DJ Stargirl * 5:00pm Prayer for Peace * 5:05pm Spiral Dance * 5:05pm 🎶DJ Instant Love * 6:45pm Closing circle; * 7:00pm wrap * 9:00pm final departure. Admission = Pay by Donation ||#fundraiser #fundraising All proceeds go to RAVEN [reg. charity] : raventrust.com RAVEN's Mission ~ To raise legal defence funds & help Indigenous Peoples of Canada defend Treaty Rights & integrity of Traditional Lands & Culture. Since 2014, RAVEN's disbursed +$2.6m of funding, resulting in: * Cancel Enbridge/Northern Gateway's Pipeline Permits; * Stop Taseko Mines (gold) destroying Teztan Biny (Fish Lake); * Ensure Beaver Lake Cree's litigation court fees to save traditional lands from degradation by Tar Sands; * Support 15 First Nations in several legal actions w/more campaigns pending. #raven #legalaction #firstnations #leavenotrace #outdoorevents #vancouverevents #vancouverisawesome (at British California)

[rebeccahpedersen]

First Nation attempts to halt drilling at B.C. lake considered sacred

The Tsilhqot’in Nation is against a plan by Taseko Mines to begin drilling on Tuesday and has scheduled a hearing in the B.C. Court of Appeal for next Friday in a bid to protect Fish Lake, known as Teztan Biny in its language.

Original Story: https://ift.tt/2W6FFut

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2JerjGI

[mrgeorgeswilson]

First Nation attempts to halt drilling at B.C. lake considered sacred

The Tsilhqot'in Nation is against a plan by Taseko Mines to begin drilling on Tuesday and has scheduled a hearing in the B.C. Court of Appeal for next Friday in a bid to protect Fish Lake, known as Teztan Biny in its language.

Original Story: https://ift.tt/2W6FFut

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The Tsilhqot’in First Nation — currently under an evacuation order due to B.C.’s wildfires — learned Monday that permits have been issued for mining company Taseko to conduct exploration for the New Prosperity mine, an open pit gold and copper mine twice rejected at the federal level.

Monday was the outgoing B.C. Liberal government’s final day in power.

Copies of the documentation obtained by DeSmog Canada show the permit was granted to Taseko on Friday July 14th, as members of the Tsilhqot’in were under evacuation orders due to rampant wildfires in central B.C.

“I appreciate this may come at a difficult time for you given the wildfire situation affecting some of your communities, however I made the permit decision Friday, ” Rick Adams, senior inspector with the B.C.Ministry of Energy and Mines told Tsilhqot’in representatives in an e-mail.

“It’s crazy to see that on their last day, they tell us of this decision,” Chief Roger William of the Gwet’in First Nation, one of six member tribes of the Tsilhqot’in, told DeSmog Canada.

“We’re certainly outraged about it,” he said. “Our people, they found out as we’re dealing with fire and now we’re dealing with a three-year drilling program.”

The permits grant Taseko permission to create 76 kilometres of new or modified trails, 122 exploratory drill holes, 367 excavated test pits and 20 kilometres of seismic lines near Fish Lake, also known as Teztan Biny, an area of cultural and spiritual significance for the Tsilhqot’in.

“Our community has been fighting this for over 30 years,” William, who is also vice-chair of the Tsilhqot’in National Government, said. “Fish Lake is an aboriginal rights area, a place we have land rights to, to fish, and hunt, to catch and use wild horses.”

Continue Reading.

[rebeccahpedersen]

First Nation attempts to halt drilling at B.C. lake considered sacred

The Tsilhqot’in Nation is against a plan by Taseko Mines to begin drilling on Tuesday and has scheduled a hearing in the B.C. Court of Appeal for next Friday in a bid to protect Fish Lake, known as Teztan Biny in its language.

Original Story: https://ift.tt/2W6FFut

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2JerjGI