US President Donald Trump has opened large areas of Alaska, including the Gulf of Alaska just north of the BC border to oil leases. The additional leases also allow more drilling the Arctic. If drilling and production does go ahead, which isn't certain, that might also mean there could be even more oil tanker traffic […]
Two related scientific papers published in the past two weeks, one on the First Peoples initial settlement of coastal North America and the second giving a probable new timeline of the retreat of the glaciers during the last Ice Age, taken together are likely confirmation of the Haisla story of how that nation first settled […]
The September issue of National Geographic includes a large map of British Columbia it calls "Claiming British Columbia." The map has three themes: First Nations' traditional territory, the routes of proposed pipeline projects, both LNG and diluted bitumen, and it features a sub map that looks at what the map calls the "Troubled Salmon" fishery. […]
The Ice Age First Nations in the interior of Alaska relied more heavily on salmon and freshwater fish in their diets than previously thought, according to a new study from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. First Nations of the Pacific Coast have always recognized the value of the salmon. Archaeologists have used new techniques to […]
Fewer salmon; many more sardines. That's one of the predictions from a new study from the University of British Columbia, looking at the future of the fishery on the coast. The study concentrates on the First Nations fishery and warns that aboriginal people could face a catastrophic decline in the harvest of traditional species, especially […]
“Very low levels” of crude oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, are a threat to the survival of herring and pink salmon that spawn in the region, according to a study released today by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The study shows that embryonic salmon and herring […]
Diluted bitumen, also known as dilbit, a mixture of oil sands bitumen and natural gas dilutants can seriously harm fish populations, according to research study at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College of Canada published this week. At toxic concentrations, effects of dilbit on exposed fish included deformities and clear signs of genetic and […]
Haisla Nation Chief Counsellor spoke at Mt. Elizabeth Theatre on June 9, 2015, introducing David Suzuki who was on a speaking tour. This is a lightly edited report on his remarks that outline some of the dilemmas facing the Haisla and the Kitimat valley in an age that needs development but faces climate change. Good […]
Call it “the wisdom of elders.” A new study concludes that British Columbia's southern resident Orca pod is led by “post reproductively aged” females who help it survive during lean years. According to the study, the older females serve as key leaders, directing younger members of the pod, and especially their own sons, to the […]
There's a dumb, dumb, really dumb idea that just won't go away—that Enbridge could solve all its problems if only, if only, it would send the Northern Gateway Pipeline to Prince Rupert. Enbridge long ago rejected the idea. Before Enbridge updated its website to make Gateway Facts, to make it slick and more attractive, the […]