Tahltan in Standoff with Province over Hunting Rules

SandraCuffe — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:52:12 +0000

Government refuses to negotiate while barricades are up

'It's a crisp mid-October day and moose brisket simmers over an open fire at the site known as Eight Mile on the Telegraph Creek Highway. A black pickup rolls to a stop at the orange barricade and Fred Moyer springs to attention, rushing his lanky frame over to the vehicle. Raised voices and occasional laughter emerge from the quad-toting couple. Eventually the pickup reverses, turns, then roars back toward Dease Lake.

Moyer's shoulders sag as he returns to the fire. He's just turned away his cousins.

"I even turn our own people away. I say, 'If I can't go hunting, why should you?'" he says. "It's sad, but it has to be this way."

Members of the Tahltan Nation say they will continue blockading two major hunting areas in northwestern B.C. until Environment Minister Barry Penner agrees to discuss what the nation describes as unchecked hunting in its traditional territory.

However, in a meeting held Wednesday, the Tahltan were told by government spokespeople that the province would not negotiate while barricades are in place.

'This isn't just about moose'

"They told us that the minister and senior level officials aren't going to meet with us until the barricades come down. We said, that's impossible because we're practising wildlife management," Tahltan Central Council chair Annita McPhee says, adding that the government said it will cut funding for social or cultural proposals while roadblocks are up. "I just said, what's one thing got to do with the other? Are you trying to punish us for protecting our moose?"

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Amanda Follett

Tahltan in Standoff with Province over Hunting Rules