Tribe protests federal push to develop Alaska's mineral resources
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An executive order issued by President Donald Trump to "unleash Alaska's enormous potential" could cause members of an ancient Tribe to lose their way of life.
The call to "maximize" development of the 49th state's natural resources has placed the Hard Rock Mine project proposal adjacent to the Chilkat Indian Village in southeastern Alaska. The move has caused the group American Rivers to label the Chilkat River as one of the nation's "most endangered."
Village President Dorothy Strong fears the mine's spoils will devastate the waterway and its annual salmon run.
Mining tunnel. © iStock - svedoliver
"The copper, zinc, silver, gold and pyrite that they're going to try and extract from that mountain is going to create such an acidic waste that will inevitably leak down into the river," she said.
She said the mining will also take place near the Alaska Bald Eagle Preserve and endanger the state's largest concentration of raptors. The mine operators, Vizsla Copper Corp., have stated that they will utilize advanced technology and industry expertise to "preserve Southeast Alaska’s rich natural and cultural heritage."
Klukwan is a small, ancient Alaska Native village positioned on the banks of the Chilkat River in Southeast Alaska. The name is a Tlingit phrase that means "Eternal Village."
Strong said the contamination of the Chilkat Valley watershed threatens the salmon runs on which her community has relied for generations.
"What we're most guarding is our ability to ensure that the next generation have that same food security that we've enjoyed in our lifetime," she said, "and our ancestors, for thousands of years."
Strong said people opposing the mine have organized a group called Chilkat Forever, with the slogan, "No means go. Leave our valley." She said it's ironic that the mine's developer is Australian because it will be managed from Canada, and the output will be sent to Japan for smelting.
"If it's a foreign country digging it up and a foreign country going to be receiving the raw materials," she said, "how does that help us?"
