B.C. Codifies Exclusion of U.S. Tribes From Environmental Decisions on Shared Watersheds

JUNEAU, Alaska — British Columbia’s amendments to the Environmental Assessment Act (the Act) are now in force, formally excluding U.S.-based Tribes from recognition as participating Indigenous nations. These changes bar Indigenous Nations whose territories span the U.S.-Canada border from meaningful participation under the Act, including in project assessments with the potential to significantly impact their lands, waters, and rights. Building on concerns raised in February with Lummi Nation, SEITC warns the amendments constitute a significant rollback in the province’s commitments to reconciliation, human rights, and the recognition of Indigenous rights, while weakening protections for transboundary waters.

“Our Tribes face the greatest potential for harm from mining projects approved in the headwaters of the Taku, Stikine and Unuk Rivers, which our communities depend on. Any contamination or failure would travel downstream across the border through one of the world’s last intact salmon systems,” said Esther Reese, president of SEITC. “Transboundary impacts require decision-making processes that reflect the shared nature of these rivers and the rights of all Indigenous Nations connected to them.”

The amendments codify a two-tiered approach to Indigenous participation, limiting full procedural standing under the Act to B.C. First Nations while addressing U.S.-based Tribes outside the statutory framework. This approach narrows how cross-border impacts are considered in project assessments, despite the interconnected nature of the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk watersheds.

Without meaningful inclusion of downstream Indigenous Nations, decisions made in British Columbia’s headwaters risk irreversible impacts on shared rivers, ecosystems, and communities across the border.

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.