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| Dear Friend, |
| Time is running out for the transboundary rivers of Alaska and British Columbia. More than 500 miles of salmon-supporting rivers and streams in the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk River watersheds are threatened as Canada rushes to expand gold mining projects in the area. |
| These massive transboundary watersheds now represent some of the planet’s last remaining salmon rivers and climate refuges, serving as wildlife corridors and encompassing a dozen ecological niches from the marine waters to the alpine. The traditional caretakers of these rivers are the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian clans who were forced by European colonization into Southeast Alaska, where they live today. |
| Under international human rights law, Canada has an obligation to get the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples impacted by the mines polluting their watersheds. Please tell Canada’s leaders to freeze all mining activity in the region until the Tribes are properly consulted. |
| Regulators in British Columbia have proposed to re-open an old underground mine on the Unuk River. The Eskay Creek Mine would be an open pit design, processing 5,000 tons of rock each day for up to 12 years. All the tailings and acid-generating waste rock would be dumped into natural lakes, enlarged by earthen dams that would need to last forever to prevent catastrophic harm. This project threatens to destroy the Unuk River’s large runs of salmon and the spawning grounds for eulachon, a prized fish central to Tlingit identity and culture. |
| The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples enshrines the right to free, prior, and informed consent on development projects affecting Indigenous communities. Yet even though Canada and BC governments have adopted this standard into law, regulators have so far refused to properly consult with the member Tribes of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) on the Eskay Creek Mine or any of the other six proposed and operating mines dotting these transboundary watersheds. |
| Send Canadian Ministers a letter to demand that they follow the law and protect the human rights of SEITC member Tribes before permitting any more mining activity in the region. |
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Sincerely,
Ramin Pejan
Senior Attorney
International Program |
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| Photo Credits: Unuk River is one of the transboundary watersheds of southeast Alaska. (USGS) |
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