Alaska and Washington Tribes Oppose B.C. Move to Exclude Them from Environmental Assessment Process
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BELLINGHAM, Wash.—Tribal nations based in Alaska and Washington have formally opposed the government of British Columbia’s newly proposed legislation that would categorically exclude U.S.-based Tribes from meaningful and deep government consultation related to the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA).
Projects subject to the EAA have the potential to affect salmon populations, water quality, and sacred sites, resulting in significant harm to Indigenous ways of life, food security, and cultural continuity.
The Tribal nations warn that their categorical exclusion would weaken environmental assessments, leading to incomplete consideration of risks and impacts. The Environmental Assessment Act was enacted to strengthen reconciliation and ensure evidence-based decision-making in the public interest.
The Tribes of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC)—a consortium of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Nations—and the Lummi Nation in Bellingham, Wash. face documented harm to their salmon, waters, and cultures from Canadian-approved mining and infrastructure projects upstream from their territories.
The Lummi Nation and SEITC released the following statements:
“The imposition of the international border did not extinguish our rights in the transboundary watersheds, nor did it relieve the Crown of its constitutional duty to consult where its decisions may adversely affect those rights.
Making a false distinction between Indigenous Nations based on a line not of our making sets up a situation, as in the case of the Unuk watershed, where an upstream Nation negotiates protections and benefits, while our Tribes downstream, whose salmon, waters, and sacred sites face documented harm, are excluded from the process.
We have already experienced the consequences of this two-tiered approach, which restricts SEITC and its member Tribes to notification only.
In November 2025, SEITC petitioned the Supreme Court of British Columbia regarding the Province’s failure to consult on transboundary mining projects. Advancing legislative amendments while that matter remains before the Court raises serious concerns about procedural fairness and the rule of law.
We urge the Province of British Columbia to reconsider this approach and to honor its constitutional obligations.”
Esther Reese
President
SEITC
“In spite of losing R. v. Desautel in the Supreme Court of Canada almost five years ago, the Government of British Columbia continues to deny Lummi Nation, and other U.S.-based Tribes meaningful consultation on projects that infringe Lummi’s rights. Lummi Nation has brought judicial review proceedings against British Columbia to force them to meaningfully consult with the Nation. Seeing that it was likely they were going to lose that court case, the government is through the passage of amendments to the Environmental Assessment Act attempting to render our judicial review moot and immunize themselves from their unconstitutional behaviour.
The government has engaged in a consistent strategy of fear-mongering to turn BC First Nations against their U.S.-based relatives who are only seeking a seat at the table. British Columbia is attempting to use BC First Nations as a shield for their bad faith actions.
“The government’s attack on the rule of law is not limited to U.S.-based Tribes. After losing the Gitxaala case in the BC Court of Appeal, the government is seeking to water down its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) commitments to not allow the courts to consider whether BC laws are consistent with the Act and the United Nations’ Declaration.”
Gabriel Cantu
Lummi Office of Reservation Attorney
The official comments filed with the provincial government of British Columbia are available on request.
ABOUT LUMMI NATION
For thousands of years, Lummi have been an independent and self-sufficient people. Today, we are a sovereign Tribal Nation within Washington state, and the manager of many thousands of acres of tidelands and the Lummi Reservation. We respect our traditions, maintain our tribal values and invest in cultural and economic development for our people.
ABOUT SEITC
Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) is a consortium of 13 Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Nations upholding their sovereign rights and defending the transboundary Stikine, Taku and Unuk Rivers from rapidly expanding mining development occurring in the Canadian headwaters.
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Contact:
Chris Nelson
425-476-4087
Sonia Luokkala
907-406-9431