A group of tribal nations in Alaska has gone to B.C. Supreme Court demanding their voice be heard on major mining projects in the province’s northwest.
They claim the British Columbia government has failed to consult them on major mining projects proposed for the region — some of which have been identified for fast-tracking by the provincial and federal governments against the backdrop of the trade war with the United States.
"Our main goal is protect the rivers, protect the salmon, protect the culture,” said Guy Archibald, executive director of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC).
The commission represents 14 tribes, which include members of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian, whose territory extends across both B.C. and Alaska.
There are treaties giving certain rights to First Nations/Native American groups that you don’t get from being a US citizen. One of those is the right to freely travel between the US and Canada for hunting and fishing on traditional lands. These are rights Canada recognized when they signed the Jay Treaty in 1794. I don’t know if that’s the exact treaty that would be used in this case, but the relationships between and the legal rights of Native Americans and First Nations aren’t always cut off at the border.