Doug Wilson's
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Doug Wilson’s - Submission to the New Prosperity Mine Review 21 September 2012 Douglas W. Wilson September 21, 2012 Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 22nd Floor, Place Bell 160 Elgin Street Ottawa ON K1A 0H3 Dear Commission Re: Submission Regarding the New Prosperity Mine Project Although retired, as a long term resident of the Cariboo/Chilcotin Central Coast area of British Columbia I have a great interest in the economic opportunities that the development of the New Prosperity Mine would have within the Cariboo/Chilcotin Central Coast area of British Columbia. I see this mine development providing long term employment directly and indirectly for hundreds and possibly thousands. While I support the New Prosperity project, I believe it is our responsibility as Canadians to insure that such development meets and maintains stringent environmental standards. If these standards can be maintained and enforced, couple this with the actual record of Taseko Mines, and the Gibraltar/ McLeese Lake operation, in existence since the early 1970’s, Taseko Mines have shown great respect for the environment, and it is with this experience also coupled with Federal and Provincial environmental regulations that I support the development of the New Prosperity Mine Development. Regarding those that are against the development of this mine, I find the people called Xeni Gwet’in and the people called Chilcotin to be truly wonderful people with reasonable dreams and aspirations. It is cultural differences and community life styles where conflict seems to rest between dreams and aspirations. The world is in a continual state of change young Xeni Gwet’in and Chilcotin native people; in an increasing awareness of the things of the world are also having an increasing desire to have the things of the world. Whatever life style in our various generations we have had in our own childhood homes, young people everywhere have new, different, and diverse interests. The Xeni Gwet’in and the people of the Chilcotin are facing the same problems as the rest of us; a great majority of our children have little interest in their parent’s life style. Obtaining education, finding employment and providing for developing families needs, becomes the new and most important criteria for a great number of the young generation. The Xeni Gwet’in, of all the Chilcotin native populations have lived in somewhat Isolation for a great number of years, it is understandable that they have a desire to Wilson Page 1 9/22/2012 Doug Wilson’s - Submission to the New Prosperity Mine Review 21 September 2012 preserve this heritage and life style. However to keep our children home and in our communities, employment has to be of the greatest importance, and not just a preservation of our elders more isolated life style. I summit, that the overall arguments put forward by Xeni Gwet’in against development of New Prosperity are not based on fact. Prior to the Homathko massacre of the 1860’s the people who now call themselves Xeni Gwet’in, were part of the native population of the Anahim Lake area of BC. For generations these people historically traveled to the Bella Coola Valley to fish at the confluence of the Talchako, the Atnarko, and the Bella Coola Rivers at a place called Stuie, traveling over mountains streams and creeks, about thirty miles from their Anahim/Nimpo Lake homes to fish at the above mentioned location. Certainly there was a good supply of trout in nearby Anahim and Nimpo Lakes, so why would these people travel so far to fish at Stuie, simply speaking the fish at Stuie were normally of substantial size and very plentiful to make these treks very worthwhile. The process of preserving these fish by smoke curing could mean a good winters food supply. Located at Stuie lie the remains of many natives buried in the unique native style of above ground boxes as similarly found in other Chilcotin locations particularly at Anahim Lake. Traveling a great distance to fish would mean that some would die in these locations and their bodies would not be brought home for burial to their traditional location. When the chiefs that were responsible for the road builders deaths in the Homathko Canyon of the 1860’s, found that the Victoria government were in search of them to account for the deaths that had occurred at Homathko, these chiefs separated themselves from their Anahim/Nimpo Lake brothers and sisters and took their families into the wilderness to hide from the law. That Wilderness happened to be located at the place now called Nemiah, this was an excellent location, because here at the mouth of the Chilco River sockeye returning to spawn provided an historical similar source of winter food supply, where the natives could preserve winter food supply exactly the same as their fore fathers had done for generations at the Stuie, Talchako/Atnarko Bella Coola River confluence. All land claims to the Nemiah Valley basically start from this 1860’s period. And like the Anahim/Nimpo Lakes area, trout abound in the various nearby lakes in the Nemiah Valley. Fish Lake is also some thirty miles distant from the village of the Xeni Gwet’in, the 1860’s is not so distant in time, that had the Xeni Gwet’in been traveling to Fish Lake over this 100 year period of time from the 1860’s to the 1960’s, and had Fish Lake been a great source of food, it would seem logical that some deaths would have occurred at Fish Lake and that there would be graves, and remains of smoke houses as similarly located at Stuie, would also be found at Fish Lake. Transportation methods of the 1860’s until the mid 1960’s would not have allowed the return of a body to Nemiah. Children and adults would surly have drowned or died of other causes and their burial plots would have been absolute evidence of native families having come to Fish Lake on some regular basis since the 1860’s, even yet today there is no evidence of such activity. Wilson Page 2 9/22/2012 Doug Wilson’s - Submission to the New Prosperity Mine Review 21 September 2012 The method of smoking and drying fish as practiced at Nemiah and at Stuie would also be in evidence at this location. My conclusion is that prior to the 1960’s there is little or no evidence that Fish Lake or it’s abundant trout played any substantial part in the lives of the Xeni Gwet’in, beyond the odd individual trapper possibly trapping in the Fish Creek Canyon. Drying Fish at Nemiah – Suzuki Report From the late 1940’s through to the 1960’s mining exploration commenced in the Fish Lake area, one such miner/explorer/prospector is Rudy Johnson, currently residing here in Williams Lake, Rudy flew into Fish Lake established a campsite and staked claims in the area. He states unequivocally that other than one Nemiah native that he employed there, there was absolutely no evidence that any native traveled to this lake on any regular basis. Mr. Johnson is ninety years old and cannot attend the commission, but he is very adamant that this is the facts as regards to his experience at Fish Lake. I am confident that Mr. Johnson could be asked, outside of attending the commission, questions regarding his experience at Fish Lake prior to roads being built to this lake. Mr. Johnson can be reached at his home phone as listed in the local directory. It was following the mining interests at Fish Lake that a road of some sort, first a rough Jeep trail and then increasing work by prospectors on this trail made Fish Lake accessible, not only to prospectors but as well to natives and other fisherman. However there remained a problem with the fish at Fish Lake, because Fish Lake is very shallow, although fish are very abundant, they are very small and taste muddy following a hot summer. It is, however a good lake for children to learn how to fish. It is because of the muddy taste of the Fish Lake fish that there is absolutely little reason Wilson Page 3 9/22/2012 Doug Wilson’s - Submission to the New Prosperity Mine Review 21 September 2012 why anyone would desire to preserve and haul these fish back to Nemiah, when good clean sockeye can be obtained right at Nemiah. From the 1860’s to 1960’s due to the Taseko River needing to be crossed and the general inaccessibility of Fish Lake, prior to the mining interest’s road access, Xeni Gwet’in, Nemiah peoples, or Chilcotin native populations had little interest in Fish Lake. There is just no irrefutable evidence, such as Graves or Smoke Houses within this time period and prior to road access, indicating that native populations were in any way active at this Fish Lake location. April of the year 2000, the David Suzuki foundation prepared a report, (referenced herewith), regarding the life and times of the Nemiah People. This report is called (¹) “Nemiah Pacific Salmon Forests Project” “Home of the Xeni Gwet’in”, prepared by David Littlemore. This excellent report details the life and times of the Nemiah people, what I find strange when one considers the current arguments being put forth by Nemiah leaders such as Marilyn Baptist about how important Fish Lake is to the Nemiah people, and the argument that this heritage extends over some great number of years, I find it strange that there is absolutely no mention of this Fish Lake heritage in the David Suzuki report.