Madison Terbasket grew up learning about syilx title and rights from her cultureB次元官网网址檚 worldview as a member of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB).
Since childhood, the 25-year-old has been deeply rooted in her homelands of nk史rulaux史 () in sm菨lqm铆x (Similkameen, Eagle Valley) territory.
As she got older, she said she began to realize that the nearby Copper Mountain Mine was violating not just her First NationB次元官网网址檚 ancestral laws governing water, but other syilx laws, too.
Located south of B次元官网网址淧rinceton, B.C.,B次元官网网址� in sm蓹qm铆x homelands in syilx Okanagan territory, the site now known as Copper Mountain Mine has seen operations since 1923. While the mineB次元官网网址檚 owners , many are concerned about .
Terbasket said the sm菨lqm铆xB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渆ntire identity comes from that river.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e the valley of the eagles B次元官网网址� how can you feed the eagles if thereB次元官网网址檚 no river?B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 our identity. ItB次元官网网址檚 also very much the lifeblood of our land.B次元官网网址�
No access to medicines at mine site: knowledge keeper
In an interview, cewelB次元官网网址檔a Leon Louis B次元官网网址� a knowledge keeper from LSIB B次元官网网址� explained that sm菨lqm铆x translates to Eagle Valley, from the nsyilxc蓹n language.
B次元官网网址淲e are the eagle people, famous for eagle feathers and ochre,B次元官网网址� Louis told IndigiB次元官网网址. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 what we used to paint our faces and paint our rock paintings. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what our people are known for.B次元官网网址�
sknir虛mn (Buttercup) Anona Kampe, a syilx Okanagan knowledge keeper, that the rock paintings found throughout the territory range from hundreds to thousands of years old.
B次元官网网址淲hen anthropologists were first making their journey throughout our territory, they came to the false conclusion that this was our first attempt at a written language. And we knew that wasnB次元官网网址檛 true,B次元官网网址� said Kampe.
An published by a local settler historian in 1958 details how the Similkameen Valley between B次元官网网址淧rincetonB次元官网网址� and HedleyB次元官网网址� features 20 sets of red ochre paintings.
B次元官网网址淪ome of the paintings have to do with tribal rites and initiation ceremonies, some are guides for hunters and travelers, others are historical records,B次元官网网址� says John GoodfellowB次元官网网址檚 The Story of Similkameen.
Goodfellow details how Indigenous people in the valley dug for bitterroot, gathered wild potato and wild onions, picked huckleberries, seeds and much more.
B次元官网网址淔ishing in lakes and rivers supplied much of the Indian diet. Basket traps were used, also horsehair lines to which thorns, or cactus hooks were attached,B次元官网网址� the account states.
B次元官网网址淣ative women made the baskets, and homemade twine. Before they were able to obtain rifles for hunting the natives used bows and arrows, lariats and snares. Even deer were snared.
B次元官网网址淎t other times a whole tribe, with the help of their dogs, would herd deer into a natural corral, where they were quickly killed with bows and arrows.B次元官网网址�
This same historical account details how settlement led to a deliberate attempted extinction of syilx ways of knowing in favour of B次元官网网址渢he white menB次元官网网址檚 civilization.B次元官网网址� This began with the fur trade, then evolved into mining and the search for gold, copper and coal.
Under settler colonialism, the Copper Mountain MineB次元官网网址檚 location saw its first operations a century ago. Several companies have acquired ownership of the project over the last century, as the mine saw intervals of activity and inactivity.
Louis said the mine site itself bars sm菨lqm铆x members from practicing culture and ceremony in that area, as they had done in the past.
B次元官网网址淲e would go hunt, fish. Picking our roots, our berries, gathering our medicines,B次元官网网址� he said.
The mine not only infringes on their title to land and their right to practice culture and conduct ceremonies, Louis said. Both Terbasket and Louis spoke of how the mining operation also interferes with the sm菨lqm铆xB次元官网网址檚 responsibilities to uphold their rights in taking care of the tmx史ulax史 (the land), siw涩k史 (water) and tmix史 (all living things) for the next seven generations to come.
B次元官网网址淭hese are our laws that take care of the land. Because if we take care of the land, the land takes care of us,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淲e think about seven generations yet to come. TheyB次元官网网址檙e not yet born. They need to have clean water, clean air, have access to our foods and medicines. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what seven generations before us did so that we would have access to that. Now, itB次元官网网址檚 our responsibility.B次元官网网址�
The problem with Copper Mountain Mine and all of its owners throughout its history is that they only care about profit and have no connection to the land, Louis said.
B次元官网网址淐ontaminating the land, contaminating the water, contaminating our medicines, our foods. All that affects us. When we eat that, itB次元官网网址檚 going to make us sick,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淲e have a prophecy about that. Eventually, we wonB次元官网网址檛 have any access to any of our foods, our medicines, the water.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址業s a syilx law not being broken every day by that mine?B次元官网网址�
In July, staff at Hudbay Minerals, the current co-owners of Copper Mountain Mine, hosted a meeting with the sm菨lqm铆x community.
The band members-only gathering was for the company to share its plans to extend the mineB次元官网网址檚 life by 14 years, by reviving the mineB次元官网网址檚 former Ingerbelle Pit. IndigiB次元官网网址 obtained an audio recording of the meeting.
Terbasket, one of the youngest members to speak at the community gathering, shared her concerns about the proposed Ingerbelle Pit expansion, and the mine as a whole.
She told the meetingB次元官网网址檚 participants that the mine has repeatedly violated syilx laws, and has a history of harming the water.
This year, the provincial Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy issued six fines to Copper Mountain Mine totalling $105,348, with all of the offences related to the pollution of nearby waters. In 2021, the mine at one point exceeded the legal limit of copper waste discharged from its tailings pond into Wolfe Creek by more than
B次元官网网址淒oes that mine treat our water with respect that we have been taught? How much have they abused that water? And if that is true, then is a syilx law not being broken every day by that mine?B次元官网网址� Terbasket said during the meeting. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really terrifying.B次元官网网址�
She acknowledged that in todayB次元官网网址檚 world, corporate profits often B次元官网网址渙utweigh the impactB次元官网网址� of resource extraction.
B次元官网网址淏ut right now as it stands, I see this as a clear attack on our title and rights,B次元官网网址� she said, B次元官网网址渁nd threatening our water B次元官网网址� the lifeblood of our land.B次元官网网址�
A syilx Elder and knowledge keeper also spoke up during the meeting, saying they are worried for future generations. IndigiB次元官网网址 did not receive permission to publish their name.
B次元官网网址淚 sit in this room and see a few of the young ones, the kids. I worry about them B次元官网网址� whatB次元官网网址檚 going to be their future? By the time that child is grown up, some of you thatB次元官网网址檚 making a deal (on the Ingerbelle pit) will be in a bone yard,B次元官网网址� the Elder said.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 worried about my valley here, where I grew up. Too much damage B次元官网网址� I donB次元官网网址檛 want to see any more of it.B次元官网网址�
At one point during the meeting, a child from the community approached the mic and said she has something to say about the Similkameen River.
B次元官网网址淚 just like the river, and you all like the river, do you?B次元官网网址� she asked, to which many in the community enthusiastically responded, B次元官网网址淵eah! We love the river.B次元官网网址�
syilx Okanagan laws about water B次元官网网址榓ll intertwinedB次元官网网址�
In their , the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) recognized water as a B次元官网网址渞elationB次元官网网址� of people B次元官网网址� a sacred entity to be treated with reverence and respect.
B次元官网网址淎ny use of water should be an act of reverence and a commitment to our responsibilities,B次元官网网址� the declaration states.
As well, the ONAB次元官网网址檚 outlines that the laws related to their territory, lands, water and resources are held in their nsyilxc蓹n language.
B次元官网网址淭he Creator has stood us, the nsyilxc蓹n-speaking people, up here as keepers of our territory, lands, water and resources for the good of all time,B次元官网网址� the declaration states in its first clause.
Meanwhile, the ONAB次元官网网址檚 states that Creator gave syilx people B次元官网网址渢he responsibility to be keepers of their waters, territory, lands, foods, and resources,B次元官网网址� its seventh article says, B次元官网网址渁nd we continue to do so.B次元官网网址�
Terbasket, who works for Penticton Indian BandB次元官网网址檚 natural resources department, told IndigiB次元官网网址 her nationB次元官网网址檚 numerous official documents governing water are interconnected.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e all intertwined,B次元官网网址� she explained. B次元官网网址淓ven though youB次元官网网址檙e breaking the water declaration, youB次元官网网址檙e still going to break the family [and] still breaking the language declarations.
In 2022, LSIB y虛ilmix史m (Chief) kal蕯l霉pa蓩使n Keith Crow told by a number of factors, including mining contamination, forestry, and climate change.
B次元官网网址淚f we lose the Similkameen, which is the lifeblood of our valley B次元官网网址� we lose our identity,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e lose who we are.B次元官网网址�
In November, Crow and Upper Similkameen Indian Band (USIB) Chief Bonnie Jacobsen were among the vowing with other regional leaders to work together to protect the Okanagan and Similkameen watersheds.
Both Jacobsen and Crow declined IndigiB次元官网网址B次元官网网址� requests to speak about the mine, the proposed Ingerbelle pit expansion, and the contents of the community meeting from July.
In 2019, LSIB and USIB entered B次元官网网址減articipation agreementsB次元官网网址� with then mine-owners Copper Mountain Mining Corporation. That same year, the application for the New Ingerbelle project had been applied for.
sm蓹qm铆x leadership has not yet made a decision on the New Ingerbelle Expansion project. ItB次元官网网址檚 unclear how much revenue the two bands themselves generate from the mining operations.
A from LSIB and USIB released in 2023 said both First Nations B次元官网网址渉ave been frustrated with the mine for years and the relationship has become increasingly strained.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淔irst Nations governments are joint decision makers, and we expect companies on our land to treat us with fairness and respect as the caretakers of our lands and waters since time immemorial,B次元官网网址� said a statement from Jacobsen at the time.
B次元官网网址淥ur lands have never been ceded, surrendered, or sold.B次元官网网址�
IndigiB次元官网网址 also reached out to Hudbay Minerals but did not receive a response.
Louis said that even in the face of environmental injustice and corporate greed, the community should never lose their hope and their strength in pushing back against the mineB次元官网网址檚 expansion.
B次元官网网址淲e should always try. Never give up. ItB次元官网网址檚 like trying to push a big boulder up a hill,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 lose hope. You always gotta keep going. Everything I do is to help my people. I cannot get discouraged.B次元官网网址�
