Tag Archives: Halfway River First Nation

Energy, Indigenous Nations

Blueberry River First Nations beat B.C. in court. Now everything’s changing

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Apart from a little pocket of land on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, Blueberry River First Nations territory is an industrial wasteland. At a walking pace, it only takes about three minutes to stumble onto some kind of development. It’s a land of pipelines, clearcuts and gas rigs. But things are about to change.

After winning a hard-fought case before the B.C. Supreme Court in 2021, the Treaty 8 nation reached a final agreement with the province on Jan. 18. The agreement charts a path forward from a past where the province excluded the community from resource decisions and infringed on the nation’s constitutionally protected rights. Two days later, B.C. signed agreements with four neighbouring nations: Doig River, Halfway River, Saulteau and Fort Nelson. Collectively, the agreements represent a way out of conflict and a shared goal to heal the land. 

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Community, Indigenous Nations

B.C. pays Blueberry River First Nations $65 million as 195 projects approved before court victory proceed

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Blueberry River First Nations signed an agreement with British Columbia Thursday, outlining first steps toward healing  the land and restoring the nations’ ability to exercise its Treaty 8  Rights, which the province breached by permitting and encouraging  industrial development on a vast scale, according to a B.C. Supreme Court ruling in June.

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Politics

How Is Proceeding With Site C Not Breaking A Treaty?

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By Roy L Hales

It has been eight days since the RCMP gunned down a demonstrator in Dawson Creek. According to the Independent Investigations Office, he “approached officers in an aggressive manner and when he did not comply with directions and commands, he was shot.” It is the latest in a series of  actions, which appear to have began with the BC government’s decision to break Treaty #8. Though this aspect of the project is not often talked about, the terms of the treaty seem clear. First Nations were to have use of the lands about to be submerged as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows. So how is proceeding with Site C not breaking a treaty?

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Environment, Indigenous Nations

Mercury Contamination Stiffens Opposition to Site C Dam

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By Roy L. Hales

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Though construction on British Columbia’s W.A.C. Bennet dam began 54 years ago, fish are still so contaminated with mercury they are unfit for human consumption. Chief Roland Willson, of West Moberly First Nation, said BC started issuing health advisories after the dam was built. On May 11, 2015, he brought 200 pounds of contaminated bull trout to the legislature lawn for a press conference calling on the B.C. government to reverse its decision to approve the controversial $9 billion Site C dam. Willson said poisoning fish is a violation of Treaty #8.

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Indigenous Nations, Politics

BC May Break A Treaty If They Build The Site C Dam

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By Roy L Hales

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There are many reasons to oppose the proposed Site C dam. It will flood what is reputedly some of the province’s most promising farmland. Most of the inhabitants of the Peace River Area, where the dam would be built, oppose the project. There are alternative energy sources, such as geothermal, which BC Hydro has not explored. The most serious objection, however, is BC may break a treaty if they build the Site C Dam.

According to treaty #8, the local First Nations can continue to use that land “for as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow.”

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