Video - Blue Gold
Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) from Susan Smitten on Vimeo.
Blue Gold expresses the Tsilhqot'in peoples' unanimous rejection of Taseko Mines Ltd.'s proposal to drain Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) in order to stockpile mining waste.
"It is not possible for us to agree to the destruction of the land that sustains us." ~ Chief Marilyn Baptiste, Xeni Gwet'in First Nation.
This film was made possible through generous donations from several organizations, including Donner Canadian Foundation, Friends of the Nemaiah Valley and Small Change Fund.
The Tsilhqot'in Nation holds proven Aboriginal hunting and trapping rights in the area where Taseko wants to build its mine. Taseko's plan requires completely draining Fish Lake (which sits at the headwaters of the Taseko River and ultimately the Fraser River, 600 km north of Vancouver, BC) and filling it with waste rock. The company intends to create a reservoir to hold the 80,000+ trout. Much of the watershed to the south including Nabas (Little Fish Lake) would be used as a tailings storage facility. This is all in an area held as sacred by the Tsilhqot'in.
In the place of gorgeous, fish-bearing lakes in a pristine sub-alpine ecosystem, Taseko will leave behind an estimated 700,000,000 tons of tailings and waste materials, including arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium and other toxic metals. These toxic creations will permanently scar the area, destroy habitat for major species like grizzlies, moose and deer, and potentially contaminate the largest wild salmon run in North America (the Fraser River).
Recent changes to Canada's Fisheries Act allow for the destruction of freshwater bodies - lakes and rivers can now be used as toxic dump sites for mining corporations. Teztan Biny is just one of many lakes slated for destruction.
The federal environmental review panel found that the Prosperity Mine Project will have "significant adverse effects" on the environment, and "high magnitude, long term irreversible" impacts on Tsilhqot'in people and culture. But the report is non-binding - and the public campaign has begun in earnest by the pro-mine camp to convince the federal government that the project should go forward despite the panel's findings.
This is a watershed moment for First Nations’ cultures and environmental protection in Canada. The independent Panel concluded that this Project will result in devastating impacts on productive fisheries and threatened grizzly bear populations, and the permanent loss of an “important cultural and spiritual area” and a “place of spiritual power and healing” for the Tsilhqot’in people. Federal Cabinet needs to know that this is a line that cannot be crossed.
The Tsilhqot'in people need moral encouragement and financial support. Let's raise our voices against the destruction of our fresh water, for the future of all Canadians.
There is a sample letter and email address on our Things You Can Do page - please take the time to write the federal panel. You can also hold screenings in your home, and encourage others to write. Or gather donations on behalf of the Tsilhqot'in - all donations receive a tax receipt.
Thank you for your support!
Now available!
Email us at info@raventrust.com to receive an HD copy of this powerful film.
WATCH AN INTERVIEW WITH TASEKO PRESIDENT AND CEO RUSSELL HALLBAUER - by BNN's Andrew Bell, recorded March 4th. Mr. Hallbauer looks distinctly uncomfortable as he tries to explain the points made in Blue Gold. And watch for his response to the clip shown from the film about why the idea of building a reservoir to hold the 85,000 trout won't work.
