Haisla Nation leads Kitlope victory
We have a solemn, sacred duty to keep faith with those who
came before us, who guarded and protected this land for us: we
must do no less for ourselves and for those who come after.
--Haisla Nation, Kitlope Declaration, 1991
The Haisla Nation of British Columbia led indigenous peoples
and environmentalists to a great victory in 1994. Their work
saved most of the million-acre Greater Kitlope Ecosystem, the
world's largest known, intact, coastal, temperate rainforest
watershed.
The Haisla and Henaaksiala people have worked for years
to ensure protection of the cultural and ecological integrity of the
Kitlope. They achieved a critical first step when West Fraser
Timber voluntarily relinquished logging rights to 800,000 acres
of the Kitlope without seeking compensation. On August 16, the
Haisla Nation and B.C. Premier Mike Harcourt announced
permanent protection of the Kitlope Valley, three-fourths of the
Greater Kitlope Ecosystem.
The Kitlope wilderness extends from estuarine marshes to
lower, riparian, old-growth, spruce and cedar forests to alpine
meadows. It provides habitats for all six species of Pacific salmon
and populations of North America's largest vertebrates--black
and grizzly bears, mountain goats, moose, and wolves.
The area is also the last part of traditional Haisla territory
to remain intact and is a continuing source of cultural and
spiritual inspiration for them. In this spectacular wilderness
setting, children can see traces of old village sites, pictographs,
and still-living cedar trees from which bark and planks were
harvested. They can also visit the sites of legends--the ancient
teachings that guided the way that people lived here. The Haisla
Nation Rediscovery Society holds camps in the Kitlope to help
children from Canada, the U.S., and other countries to gain self-
esteem and cultural and cross-cultural awareness.
To protect the Kitlope, the Haisla worked with Ecotrust, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to conservation-based
development in North America's coastal rain forests. Together,
they focused scientific attention on the Kitlope, developed a
wilderness-planning framework, established the Nanakila
Institute to foster protection and stewardship, and held public
workshops. The Haisla also met repeatedly with the provincial
government and West Fraser Timber.
Instead of creating a provincial park, the Haisla are taking
an innovative approach. They are managing the Kitlope jointly
with the B.C. government. The Nanakila Institute is already
developing programs of scientific research and nature- and
culture-based tourism, and it will monitor the effects of these
activities.
--Erin Kellogg, Ecotrust
What You Can Do
Rainforest Action Network is asking you to take positive action
this holiday season by thanking the Haisla for a job well done.
Sample letter:
Chief Councillor Rob Robinson
Kitamaat Village Council
Haisla P.O. Box 1101
Kitamaat Village, British Columbia
V0T 2B0 CANADA
Dear Chief Robinson:
I would like to express my appreciation for the leadership
the Haisla Nation has taken in protecting part of the world's
largest, coastal, temperate rainforest ecosystem. I am greatly
inspired by the courage and resolve of the Haisla and
Henaaksiala to protect the integrity of your traditional territory.
You have set an example for the world and helped to sustain a
vital part of the planet we all share.
-------------------------------------------------------
>From Action Alert #103, December 1994
Published by:
Rainforest Action Network
450 Sansome St., Suite 700
San Francisco, CA, 94111, U.S.A.
Automatic info: ran-info@igc.apc.org
E-mail: rainforest@igc.apc.org
Tel: (415) 398-4404
Fax: (415) 398-2732
Rainforest Action Network is a non-profit
activist organization working to save the world's
rainforests and support the rights of indigenous
peoples. Begun in 1985, RAN works internationally
in cooperation with other environmental and
human-rights organizations on major campaigns to
protect rainforests.