Tahltan Territory in B.C. courtesy of the nation.
The Tahltan Central Government say it wants gold, copper and silver mining company out of the territory.
The nation in Northern B.C. says they will be taking steps to stop Doubleview Gold Corp. operations on their unceded lands.
In a written statement released on March 17, the nation said that Doubleview’s mineral claims are in a culturally sensitive area.
The statement said the company has not operated by the framework that applies to mineral exploration in their territory.
Chad Norman Day, president of the central government, highlighted the bad relationship with the government.
“Tahltans take pride in working meaningfully with industry partners and the Province, but this company has continually been disrespectful and resistant to following the protocols and processes we have in place with mineral exploration companies throughout Tahltan Territory,” he said.
“We will be taking all actions necessary to protect our land and resources, including keeping Doubleview from pursuing their interests in our Territory any further.”
APTN News requested a statement on the story from Doubleview Gold Corp., but did not get a response.
This conflict between the company and the Tahltan has been building for years.
In 2015, Doubleview Gold Corp. sought an injunction against the Tahltan Nation for exploratory drilling at the Hat Mine located in Sheslay region.
The B.C. Supreme Court later dismissed the injunction and awarded court costs to the Tahltan First Nation, which included Day, his vice president and Tahltan elders.
In a phone interview with APTN, Chad Norman Day explained the importance of the Sheslay area.
“This area has always been sacred to Tahltan people; our ancestors are buried out there. We have many Tahltan elders today that were born and raised in that area,” he said.
“It’s an area in our oral history that was very important in times of flooding; the story I heard is there may not have been a Tahltan Nation if it wasn’t for the Sheslay Mountain and diverse wildlife in that area during difficult times.”
The statement explained that Tahltan Nation holds Aboriginal title and rights throughout the territory.
They generally support mining and exploration activities if they are carried out following their laws and policies.
Day says the company has not respected following these protocols, and they don’t want Doubleview Gold Crop in the area.
“We tried for years to work with them and to establish a respectful relationship, but they don’t appear to be interested, ” he said.
“They want to do things their way, but they’re visitors Tahltan territory; we believe we assert that we have jurisdiction to remove them.”
