Part of the Cayoosh Moutain Range, the region is a transition zone from the coast to the Interior. It is habitat to Grizzly bears, cougar, bobcat, wolverine, deer, hawks, owls and many other small animals. It also contains one of the largest herds of Mountain Goats now remaining in North America.
Background on Sutikalh
On May 2, 2000, members of the
St'at'imc nation and their allies established a permanent camp near
Melvin Creek, located off Highway 99 between Mt. Currie/Pemberton and
Lillooet, in the southern Interior region of BC.
Known as
Sutikalh, the St'at'imc winter spirit of the area, the camp was set up
to stop government and corporate plans to build a $500 million
all-season ski and recreation resort in an untouched Alpine mountain
area.
Part of the Cayoosh Moutain Range, the region is a
transition zone from the coast to the Interior. It is habitat to
Grizzly bears, cougar, bobcat, wolverine, deer, hawks, owls and many
other small animals. It also contains one of the largest herds of
Mountain Goats now remaining in North America.
The area has
been occupied and used by the St'at'imc for as long as 10,000 years,
following the retreat of the last glacial period which carved out the
steep-sided valleys and jagged mountain tops.
Along with
food gathering, the area was also used by shamans, who went to the
mountains for purification, spiritual renewal and training. These
traditions continue to be practised today at Sutikalh, where people
come to gather foods, medicines, pure fresh water, and to participate
in cultural and spiritual activities.
To this day the area
remains unceded, unsurrendered St'at'imc territory, in which neither
Canada nor BC have legal or moral authority to govern, claim territory
or even carry out business.
That both levels of government
continue to impose their authority is a violation of Canada's own laws
and its highest courts (i.e., the 1763 Royal Proclamation and, to a
lesser extent, the 1997 Delgamuukw Supreme Court Decision)...
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Of
course, the St'at'imc have been well aware of the illegal theft and
occupation of their territory. IN 1911, leaders of the St'at'imc signed
a declaration, stating in part:
- "We claim that we
are the rightful owners of our tribal territory... We have always lived
in our country, at no time have we ever deserted it, or left it to
others. We have retained it from the invasion of other tribes at the
cost of our blood. Our ancestors were in possession of our country
centuries before the whites came... We are aware the BC government
claims our country, like all other Indian territories in BC; but we
deny their right to it. We never gave it or sold it to them. They
certainly never got the title to the country from us, neither by
agreement nor conquest, and none other than us could have any right to
give them title."
1911 Declaration of the Lillooet Tribe (St'at'imc)
At
this time, the St'at'imc and many other nations formed political
organizations such as the Indian Rights Association (IRA) and the
Allied Tribes of BC. They correctly understood that, without treaties,
the province of BC and Canada were in violation of the 1763 Royal
Proclamation. They sought to hold the government accountable to its own
laws.
To this end they organized meetings, rallies and
delegations to meet with government officials and the British Crown. By
1927, Canada outlawed any land claims organizing by First nations
through the Indian Act. This ban was not lifted until the 1950s. Today,
in response to increased legal action by First Nations (along with
political and economic self-interest), the government is attempting to
extinguish Aboriginal title through the BC Treaty Process, thereby
legalizing its theft of Indigenous territories.
150 YEARS ON STOLEN LAND
For
over 150 years, the St'at'imc - like other First Nations - have seen
their way of life nearly destroyed, their ancestral territories claimed
by European settlers and colonial authorities. Beginning in 1858 with
the discovery of gold, tens of thousands of prospectors invaded the
southern Interior. They brought diseases which decimated the St'at'imc
and other Interior nations (as occurred on the coast); in some cases,
villages saw 90% of their populations die.
By the 1920s
railway lines had been punched through, increasing European settlement
and resource extraction (logging and mining). In the meantime, First
Nations were forced onto small reserves and generations of Indigenous
children placed in Residential Schools. In the 1950s and '60s,
hydro-electric dams and power plants were established, destroying or
reducing entire salmon runs in the Bridge and Seton Rivers. By the
1970s, clearcut logging and road building scarred many valleys and
mountain- sides.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
In 1990, the
BC government began an expansion of Highway 99, upgrading a logging
road that cut through the Melvin Creek watershed. In order to connect
this road to Hwy. 99, the provincial government expropriated a portion
of the Mt. Currie reserve, using a section of the Indian Act. This
created a groundswell of opposition among the Lil'wat of Mt. Currie,
who blockaded the Duffy Lake road. A large RCMP operation resulted in
63 arrests in the fall of 1990. Those arrested were held one month,
refusing to give their names or co-operate. The next year, as highway
construction proceeded, the government announced it was seeking
proposals for a ski resort development in the Melvin Creek area - a
project only possible with the forced expansion of Hwy. 99.
NOT ANOTHER SKI RESORT
In
1991, in response to the government's proposal, Nancy Greene-Raine
resort consultants Inc. (NGR), submitted plans for the Cayoosh Ski
Resort, a $500-million all-season ski and recreation resort, with an
upper and lower village, a 12 km access road to the upper village, 14
lifts, a conference centre, skiing, hiking, horseback riding, and as
many as 12,000 daily visitors with accommodation for 14,000 (2,000 for
staff).
NGR Inc. is owned by Nancy Greene, a former Olympic
gold medallist, and her husband Al Raine. NGR has also been involved in
a bitter struggle for the past 3 years with the Secwepemc nation over a
$70 million expansion to the Sun Peaks ski resort, located 1 hours
drive north of Kamloops.
Initially, the government's own
Environment Ministry, Kamloops region, advised against any development
in the Cayoosh and Melvin Creek watersheds, citing high wildlife
values, especially Grizzly Bear and Mountain Goat habitat.
In
1993, NGR withdrew their proposal. Intervention by high-ranking
government officials, however, renewed the Cayoosh proposal and created
political pressure to force it through. in 1994, Employment minister
Glen Clark met with Al Raine. Following this, Raine stated he was "very
encouraged by the new attitude of cooperation." The following year, the
BC cabinet overruled the Kamloops office's original decision, and in
1996 NGR applied fore project approval certification through the BC
government's Environmental Assessment Office (EAO).
Over the
years, reports and studies submitted to the EAO have failed to mention,
or downplayed, both Grizzly and Mountain Goat habitat and negative
environmental impact. Finally, on August 14, 2000, the EAO gave its
approval for the Cayoosh ski resort. The EAO is considered the most
'difficult' phase for a project of this size and nature to pass. Now,
all that remains is for NGR to receive a master development agreement
as required under the Commercial Alpine Ski Policy (CASP).
The
CASP is a responsibility of Land and Water, BC, Inc. (formerly BC
Assets and Lands Corporation), a government agency created to sell,
lease and 'develop' Crown lands. This final stage is a technicality and
it is expected that by 2003-04, the final go-ahead will be given. As of
Spring 2003, Sutikalh still remains and no construction or logging has
occurred.
ST'AT'IMC MAKE THEIR STAND AT SUTIKALH
Just
as the EAO process neared completion in 2000, the alarm was sounded. On
May 2/00, the Sutikalh camp was established, and before the month ended
it was decided to make it a permanent camp. From the beginning,
Sutikalh has served as a rallying point for the St'at'imc. On June
11/00, over 120 people gathered at Sutikalh, including members from all
11 St'at'imc communities. The meeting overwhelmingly rejected the ski
resort.
Throughout June and July, more permanent structures
were built, including construction of an Estken (a traditional
pit-house). From July 27 to August 4/00, some 40 children and youth
attended the camp, gathering food and medicines and participating in
cultural activities.
They also helped distribute 1500
pamphlets and collect hundreds of signatures on a petition opposed to
the ski resort. On August 14/00, when the EAO gave its approval to NGR,
the St'at'imc set up an information checkpoint at Sutikalh on Hwy. 99
for 17 hours.
In Vancouver, St'at'imc representatives and
several Aboriginal political organizations, along with
environmentalists, protested outside the Vancouver Stock Exchange (to
deter potential investors).
This grassroots organizing
helped put pressure on all 11 St'at'imc band councils to come out in
opposition to the ski resort, event through some chiefs and councilors
actually support development. On August 17/00, the Lillooet Tribal
Council issued a letter to NGR, signed by all 11 chiefs, rejecting the
ski resort.
On October 2/00, a referendum on the ski resort
was held in Mt. Currie, the closest and largest St'at'imc community to
the Melvin Creek area. Of 3324 votes cast, 276 voted No, with 46 voting
Yes.
The St'at'imc have also received public support from
various Aboriginal groups, including the Interior Alliance (band
councils of the Southern Carrier, St'at'imc, Secwepemc, Nlaka'pamux and
Okanagain), the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), the Native Youth
Movement (NYM), and the Cheam First Nation.
Several
environmental groups are also opposed to the Cayoosh ski resort,
including the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC), the
Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC), Sierra Club and even former
government biologists.
BIG $ FOR BC GOVERNMENT
Despite
government and corporate claims that there will be no environmental
impact, it is obvious to anyone that a $500 million ski resort, with
accommodations for 14,000 people, will have a major impact on wildlife
habitat and ecosysterms. According to a financial analysis and market
assessment by the EAO, the BC government stands to gain the most with
an estimated $1.1 billion in revenue upon project completion.
- "[The]
province of BC and its residents have the most to gain economically
from a project of this nature compared to possible returns to the
applicant (NGR) and associated investors. This point of view ignores
any environmental impacts..."
Executive Summary - Review of the Market Assessment and Financial Analysis, EAO
Visit camp, consider doing a 'Tour of Duty' at Sutikalh.
On May 2, 2000, members of the St'at'imc nation and their allies established a permanent camp near Melvin Creek, located off Highway 99 between Mt. Currie/Pemberton and Lillooet, in the southern Interior region of BC.
