Two central interior First Nations gathered in front of the Prince George courthouse Monday mooring,
Dubbed the “Rally for the River”, the event kicked off as a court case launched by the Saiku’uz and Stellat’en First Nations over the Nechako River and its Fisheries came to the north.
The 200-day trial began in Vancouver last month and centres on the impact of the Kenney Dam on the river and the Nations’ Aboriginal rights.
The Dam, which diverts about 70% of the Nechako’s flow to power the Rio Tinto’s Kitimat aluminum smelter, was constructed in 1954.
The Saik’uz and Stellat’en launched legal action against the company, B.C. and Canada, alleging that the dam has resulted in devastating downstream effects on the river, fish populations, and the communities that rely on them.
“It is important that part of the trial be heard in Prince George so that Elders and members of both communities can attend and observe the legal proceedings,” says Saik’uz Chief Priscilla Mueller, in a news release. “The Nechako River sustained our communities and many others for thousands of years. Very few British Columbians know how construction of the Kenney Dam devastated the Nechako River, its Fisheries and our way of life.
The case will hear testimony in Prince George for five days.
