10 Years of Tahltan Opposition In 2011, Doubleview retained its associated company, Terracad Geoscience Services Ltd. (“Terracad”), to commence exploration activities on the Hat Property on its behalf. And it met with the immediate opposition of the Tahltan Nation. The Tahltan’s concerns centred on the potential detriment to its rights to exercise cultural and subsistence activities in what it considered to be a sacred area. Among the risks and deficiencies noted by the Tahltan was the absence of an archaeological overview assessment in a region of significant historical use.
In January 2013, a 21-member Land Stewardship Committee currently oversees the planning process, with areas of specific goals focusing on the Klappan and Sheslay areas. Issues identified by the Tahltan community include the scale and pace of development within their traditional territory as well as to what extent Tahltan can protect culturally significant areas such as Klappan and Sheslay. https://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents_staticpost/49262/89282/Chapter_23_Appendices/Appendix_23-A_Non-Tradnl_Land_Use_Baseline_Report.pdf
Completing an AIA became a condition of the drilling permit the Ministry of Energy and Mines issued to Terracad. Doubleview commenced drilling on June 30, 2015 despite continued opposition from the TCG. Critically, an archeologist had not completed an AIA before Doubleview proceeded to drill.
On July 7, 2015, Chad Day, the president of the TCG, Madelaine Hawkins, the Vice President of the TCG, and four Tahltan elders travelled to the Hat Property by helicopter. They requested and were granted an opportunity to meet with Tahltan Drilling employees, including the company’s owner, Pat Carlick. They began with a prayer, and then each of the elders spoke in turn. The elders explained the sacred nature of the Sheslay region, and pointed out that the Tahltan people did not support mining in that area of the Tahltan territory. Mr. Day, as president, then spoke to say that the Tahltan people did not support mining exploration in the Sheslay, and wanted to see the area protected from industrial development. He asked them to respect the wishes of the elders and the people, and stop drilling.
On July 10, 2015, Chad Day wrote “We made it 100% clear that the Tahltan people are not going to support exploration or mining activities in Sheslay. Our Elders spoke of the area's history and pointed to the hunting grounds, birthplaces and burial grounds of their relatives and our Ancestors. The Tahltan Nation issued no permits for these exploration activities and will remain united and determined to protect this area.” and “We are not opposed to all exploration activities and developments, but we will make sure certain areas, such as Sheslay, remain protected for our future generations.” https://www.facebook.com/tahltangovernment/posts/992591150772901
On July 15, 2015, Chad Day compared the Sheslay dispute to Sacred Headwaters. “It may not have received the publicity of the Headwaters and the Klappan, but now that we’re coming together and have made a decision to protect that area, it could easily turn into another situation like that.” https://www.interior-news.com/news/tahltan-compare-sheslay-dispute-to-sacred-headwaters/
On December 1, 2019, Chad Norman Day wrote “From preventing BC Hydro from damming the Stikine River in the 1970s, to shutting down Royal Dutch Shell’s coalbed methane project in our Sacred Headwaters in 2008, to banning Fortune Minerals from proceeding with an open-pit coal mine in 2013, Tahltans remain undaunted and united in protecting what is sacred to us.” and “The companies that ignored our respectful requests will have no future in Tahltan territory once the industry shifts and the Tahltan people become increasingly involved in many important decisions and processes on the landscape.” https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/features/tahltan-nations-proactive-stance-with-undrip/
In the 2019 TCG Wildlife Newsletter, Tahltan Land Planning Project Manger Alanna Quock said “While we are developing a Tahltan Land Stewardship Plan for the entire territory, we are focusing on three areas for the IPCA project: Sheslay, Ice Mountain and the Klappan Sacred Headwaters Zone. We chose these areas because they include important wildlife habitat and provide high sustenance value to our communities. The Sheslay area is home to the Level Mountain caribou herd, as well as critical moose habitat and calving areas. Sheslay is a culturally high use area for the community of Telegraph Creek, most importantly for sustenance gathering. ” https://tahltan.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/3331_TCG_WildlifeNewsletter2019_1pgWeb.pdf
From the Spring 2019 Newsletter: “Recently we have ensured that nearly all exploration activity around Mount Edziza and the Klappan have stopped and are working with government to officially ratify the historic Klappan Plan. We have also made further progress on a Tahltan Land Use Plan and will be taking some serious steps to create no-go zones around sensitive areas like Sheslay.” https://tahltan.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/TCG_SpringNewsletter2019_v11_WebUpload-1.pdf
On March 17, 2021, the Tahltan Central Government (“TCG”) issued Doubleview a notice of opposition and said it will do whatever is necessary to make sure the company leaves the territory. https://tahltan.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/TAHLTAN-NATION-OPPOSES-DOUBLEVIEW-GOLD-CORPS-OPERATIONS-March-17-2021.pdf
On March 24, 2021, Tahltan President Chad Norman Day said that Tahltan stewardship planning is working on plans to permanently protect Sheslay. https://thenarwhal.ca/tahltan-nation-evicts-doubleview-gold-corp/ (They do not appear to be empty words for on August 27, 2019, Chad Day signed the Klappan Plan to protect the area identified by the Tahltan people as the “Sacred Headwaters,” an immense subalpine basin which is the birthplace of three salmon bearing rivers, the Skeena, Nass and Stikine. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/consulting-with-first-nations/first-nations/20180216-klappan_plan.pdf And on April 8, 2021, The Tahltan Central Government, the Province, Skeena Resources Limited, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and BC Parks Foundation announced a new conservancy to protect Mount Edziza and the surrounding area which are sacred to the Tahltan Nation. https://tahltan.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NR_Tahltan_Conservancy_Agreement_210407_FINAL.pdf)
On April 8, 2021, Chad Norman Day, president of the Tahltan Central Government, said in an interview that “Mount Edziza is one of those areas, similar to the Stikine River, the Sacred Headwaters and Sheslay Valley, that is amongst the most sacred places to the Tahltan people culturally.” https://thenarwhal.ca/mount-edziza-tahltan-skeena-resources/
On April 17, 2021, Chad Norman Day, president of the Tahltan Central Government, said in an interview that “Doubleview is treading on sacred grounds.” and “There's no way the Tahltan would ever support a mine there.” and "The Sheslay area was a major village site in pre-contact times and even nowadays we have many elders who were born in the Sheslay area. Many of our ancestors are buried out there." and "British Columbia, Doubleview, we should all just save ourselves a lot of time, energy and conflict and get Doubleview out of there." and "When you have Tahltan title and rights over 11 per cent of the province and you have jurisdiction over an area the size of Portugal, you don't need to be supportive of projects that are in really culturally sensitive areas." https://ca.news.yahoo.com/b-c-indigenous-nation-opposes-080000763.html