Taseko Mines, the Canadian mining company who has made two failed attempts to launch a gold and copper mine in Tsilhqot’in First Nation Territory in British Colombia, has been granted an extension of an environmental assessment certificate to build an open-pit mine capable of producing 70,000 tons of ore per day over 20 years.
By Emily Sanders
Despite the reputation held by Canada for its comparatively respectful human rights practices, the country’s recent actions in Indigenous territories both at home and abroad has caused Vancouver businesses to gain notoriety in Latin America as the worst in the extractive industry. Both in terms of environmental degradation and human rights violations, the Canadian government has failed to prevent the corrupt behaviors of its extractive industries —the result of lacking policy standards and enforcement on the part of the Canadian government.
On October 12th, Tsilhqot’in People gathered at Fish Lake in British Colombia to inaugurate a totem pole at a new conservation area covering 800,000 acres to be managed by the Tsilhqot’in First Nation of Canada. The park, whose official name is Dasiqox Tribal Park, is known as ‘Nexwagwez?an’ , meaning “it is there for us” in the Tsilhoqot’in language.
On October 4th, the Tsilhqot’in First Nation of British Columbia will hold a totem pole-raising ceremony to inaugurate 3,000 square kilometers of land as a tribal park, just a few months after a historic Supreme Court decision granted them title to 1,750 square kilometers of disputed land.
24 September 2014
PUBLIC STATEMENT
In a decision delivered on Thursday, June 26, 2014, Canada’s Supreme Court has granted aboriginal title to the Tsilhqot’in Nation of British Colombia for 1,700 square kilometers of land that they can prove they have traditionally occupied or used for hunting, fishing, or spiritual ceremonies.
By Elliot Setzer, Intercontinental Cry
Taseko Mines Ltd. applied to the Federal Government for a second judicial review on March 26, 2014 after their proposal for the New Prosperity gold and copper mine in Tsilhqot’in territory was yet again rejected.
Known by the Tsilhqot’in people of the area as Teztan Biny, Fish Lake is a small lake located on the Chilcotin plateau in the Cariboo region of British Columbia on the Fish Creek Watershed, 125 kilometers southwest of the town of Williams Lake. Fish Lake lies within the picturesque lakes and forests of the Tsilhqot’in territory and is of great significance culturally and spiritually to the Tsilhqtot’in people. Throughout the last decade this land has been the subject of a battle between First Nations people and their supporters and Taseko Mines, Ltd.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
