Canada: A group of Alaska tribes demands a pause on the British Columbia mining project upstream of an ecological hotspot

​​A group of Indigenous communities in Alaska are calling for a stop to a “reckless” mining plan across the Canadian border that they say will threaten their water, food supply and way of life. The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) — a commission of 15 Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Nations — has turned to an international human rights body to support their case. On Aug. 1, the Southeast Alaska Tribes requested support from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, arguing the reopening of the Eskay Creek Mine in B.C. will violate their human rights. The open-pit gold-silver mine near Stewart, B.C. is proposed to be reopened by Skeena Resources, who report that the project has the potential to produce 3.7 million tonnes per year of silver-bearing ore and gold over an estimated 12-year operating life. The mine revitalization process, which began in 2021 — 13 years after Eskay Creek’s initial closure — will have devastating impacts on the Unuk ...