Southeast Alaska Tribes request international protection as Canada threatens world’s last wild salmon rivers

The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC), consisting of Alaska Tribes rooted along Canada’s transboundary rivers, today requested that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights order a temporary pause on reckless mining activity that is violating the Tribes’ human rights. As dozens of mining companies seek permission from the government of British Columbia (BC) to develop some of the world’s largest gold mines in the headwaters of Southeast Alaska’s transboundary rivers, the Canadian government has decided to deny the sovereign rights of the Southeast Alaska Tribes living downstream. This decision, which was ordered by Canada’s Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship June 27, could guarantee the destruction of both a critical ecological hotspot and the cultures and way of life of the Southeast Alaska Tribes.

“Canada’s decision categorically silences those of us who have occupied and stewarded these watersheds for tens of thousands of years, long before the colonial border was established,” said Lee Wagner, SEITC assistant executive director, who is Tsimshian, Haida, and Łingít. “Canada is putting companies and profit over the rights of its neighbors who are separated only by a colonial border. Let’s be clear: this is a death sentence for our rights and way of life, the waters on which we depend, and the wildlife with which we share our home.”

Re:wild joins SEITC and Earthjustice in demanding that the Canadian government recognize the sovereign rights of the Tribes and fulfill its duty to consult them on all development decisions impacting their traditional territories. SEITC and Re:wild have published an open letter asking individuals around the world to sign and join the 15 Tribes in demanding that the government of Canada and BC honor their international human rights obligations, recognize the Tribes' rights and engage with them in deep consultation.

The rivers threatened by mining—which include the Unuk, Stikine and Taku—are part of living oral history and hold immense cultural significance to the Tribes. The rivers are some of the last wild salmon rivers left in the world, and home to world-class runs of five wild Pacific salmon species, including the endangered chinook (king salmon). These watersheds are vital to sustaining the Tongass, the largest temperate rainforest in the world. The annual return of salmon nourishes the ancient cedar and hemlock, which define this unique and diverse ecosystem, home to black and brown bear, coastal gray wolf, and a myriad of other wildlife.

“This ecological hotspot--including the people and wildlife that depend on it--is still healthy because the Tsimshian, Haida and Tlingit have safeguarded these watersheds for millenia,” said Nina Hadley, Re:wild’s senior director of guardians. “We join the SEITC member Tribes in condemning Canada’s reckless decision to deny their rights and cut them out of the decision-making process.”

The order from Canada’s Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship was in response to a petition the Southeast Alaska Tribes filed for formal recognition of their territories across the border, using the results of a use and occupation study of the Unuk watershed. The study, funded by Re:wild, determined that the Tribes have occupied and stewarded the watershed prior to the establishment of the U.S.-Canada border.

According to a recent Canadian Supreme Court ruling, this makes the Tribes eligible for constitutional rights and triggers their right to deep consultation. If granted, this would have been the first time in history that a U.S.-based Tribe received Participating Indigenous Nation status in Canada. Instead, the order makes the Tribes ineligible for Participating Indigenous Nation status in Canada, barring them from a voice on development decisions impacting their homelands.

Mining can severely impact humans, wildlife and waterways. According to a ScienceAdvancesstudy, even mines that don’t catastrophically fail can have devastating watershed impacts hundreds of miles downstream and years into the future. They can alter water and sediment chemistry, water cycling, and habitat and ecosystems.

For decades, SEITC member Tribes have observed the decline of wildlife, including salmon and eulachon, downstream from major mines. Data shows mining in Canada poses a threat to downstream U.S. communities such as Montana, where sediment concentrations of arsenic reach 10 times higher in the Elk River watershed than threshold levels.

“We have been doing everything we can to engage the Canadian government in this process, giving them the opportunity to disrupt their ongoing colonial legacy, and recognize our sovereign rights,” said Rob Sanderson Jr., SEITC vice-president. “We are the guardians of some of the last wild places left in the world not yet exploited by the extractive industry, but without our rights recognized, we cannot do this. We hope that individuals around the world—many of whom are also facing devastating consequences resulting from Canadian mining—join us in this fight.”

In 2020, SEITC filed an international human rights complaint against the federal government of Canada. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights agreed last fall that mining practices in BC may violate the fundamental human rights of the Southeast Alaska Tribes. The case is now in its briefing phase.

"If Canada continues to ignore their constitutional and international duties, we may lose this critical transboundary ecosystem to private mining companies," said Earthjustice attorney Ramin Pejan. "The sovereignty and future of Southeast Alaska Tribes is tied to the safeguarding of our very planet."

Photo: Aerial view of the inside passage between Alaska and British Columbia (Photo by Sonia Luokkala, Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission)
Download photos

Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC)
Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) is a consortium of 15 Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Nations upholding their sovereign rights and defending the transboundary Stikine, Taku and Unuk Rivers from the rapidly expanding mining development occurring in the Canadian headwaters.

Re:wild
Re:wild protects and restores the wild. We have a singular and powerful focus: the wild as the most effective solution to the interconnected climate, biodiversity and human wellbeing crises. Founded by a group of renowned conservation scientists together with Leonardo DiCaprio, Re:wild is a force multiplier that brings together Indigenous peoples, local communities, influential leaders, nongovernmental organizations, governments, companies and the public to protect and rewild at the scale and speed we need. Learn more at rewild.org.

Earthjustice
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer. Learn more at earthjustice.org