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Summary
After all the love that First Nations organizations showed the new NDP government in British Columbia, there’s cracks beginning to form around the unity all parties boasted about having developed.
In a press statement today, the Tŝilhqot’in Nation said it’s being challenged by ‘business as usual’ from the province, despite the electorate having swapped out the BC Liberals under Christy Clark for the self-professed enlightenment of a John Horgan-led government.
Tŝilhqot’in remains unequivocally opposed to the opening of the moose hunt in its territory. Following the worst wildfire season British Columbia has ever seen, the Tŝilhqot’in is concerned about their members’ food security and a healthy moose population.
Moose populations in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region have severely declined over the past decade, the nation asserts. The Tŝilhqot’in Nation has been calling on B.C to ban the licensed moose hunt for 2017 in the territory. But instead, the BC Wildfire Service recently approved increased access by hunters.
Despite the BC Government’s stated commitment to reconciliation, these actions were taken without consulting the Tŝilhqot’in and without regard for the right of free, prior informed consent under the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, reads the statement.
“The Tŝilhqot’in Nation continues to suffer because of poor government decision making in the aftermath of the wildfires,” said Chief Joe Alphonse, Tribal Chairman of Tŝilhqot’in National Government. “The actions by the B.C government so far do not reflect the best interests of First Nations, wildlife conservation, nor their commitments to be different than previous governments in dealing with Indigenous peoples.”
Tŝilhqot’in communities that rely on hunting and fishing for sustenance and culture are prepared not to hunt moose to ensure the stability of the remaining population, the statement reads.
“The Tŝilhqot’in Nation is outraged that the Province of B.C would let non-subsistence hunters into the territory while First Nations communities struggle to deal with the effects of the wildfires.”