Kanahus Manuel

Indigenous Voices from Frontline Struggles against Dispossession

with Dini Ze Toghestiy

So-called British Columbia is mostly unceded and unsurrendered lands; there has never been a treaty or purchase of our lands. Yet our peoples have been forced onto the front lines battling with the aggressive resource extraction industry. In my Secwepemc territory we have been fighting Imperial Metals’ Mt Polley mine along with the tourism industry at Sun Peaks ski resort, water extractions, and pipelines. It hurts my heart when I see things like the Mt. Polley disaster in our territory that dumped millions of litres of toxic tailings into Hazeltine Creek and then Quesnel Lake. There are 10 metres of tailings at the bottom of Quesnel Lake. What is more disturbing is that on Nov 30th, 2015 the provincial government gave a discharge permit to Imperial Metals, even though they admit that the water being discharged from the mine doesn’t meet drinking water or aquatic life guidelines. Their rationale is because the Hazeltine Creek is now a non-fish bearing creek. (…)