National Audubon Society - Mining Could Pollute Alaska's Chilkat Valley. A Tribe and Local Groups Defend their Way of Life.
Read the full story by Megan Moriarty on Audubon.org
The people of Klukwan chart the seasons based on what can be found in the Chilkat Valley and its network of interconnected waterways. In early spring, dip nets are used to catch eulachon, a small fish known as hooligan and nicknamed “candlefish” because they're so oily you can light them on fire. Then at low tide it’s time to gather red ribbon seaweed, which is washed thoroughly before being hung up to dry.
“So it’s busy,” says Lani Strong Hotch, a textile artist and culture bearer in the Alaska Native community. “Then it’s time to harvest the stinging nettles and the cottonwood buds and all that for medicinal use." This ancient village of about 100 people branches off Haines Highway along the banks of the Chilkat River. In the Tlingit language, the river’s name is Jilkaat Heeni, which translates to “Storage Container for Salmon,” and five species of salmon regularly run up the river during spawning season.
Her husband Jones Hotch serves as Tribal Council President for Klukwan’s Tribal government. “We have enjoyed our way of life for centuries, seasonal harvests and living off the land, a river kitchen of salmon, picking our berries,” he says. “But now, we are eyeball to eyeball with losing that forever because of the proposed mine upriver from us.”
“So it’s busy,” says Lani Strong Hotch, a textile artist and culture bearer in the Alaska Native community. “Then it’s time to harvest the stinging nettles and the cottonwood buds and all that for medicinal use." This ancient village of about 100 people branches off Haines Highway along the banks of the Chilkat River. In the Tlingit language, the river’s name is Jilkaat Heeni, which translates to “Storage Container for Salmon,” and five species of salmon regularly run up the river during spawning season.
Her husband Jones Hotch serves as Tribal Council President for Klukwan’s Tribal government. “We have enjoyed our way of life for centuries, seasonal harvests and living off the land, a river kitchen of salmon, picking our berries,” he says. “But now, we are eyeball to eyeball with losing that forever because of the proposed mine upriver from us.”
That proposed mine is the Palmer Project, a controversial operation run by an international conglomerate that's exploring a mineral reserve for copper, zinc, and other metals along a tributary of the Klehini River, which flows into the Chilkat. Both rivers are now considered endangered because the project would cause harmful acid mine drainage. The Tribe and groups in the nearby town of Haines have fought for years to save the watershed from contamination.