Posted In: Blog , Iskut-Stikine
‘Klabona’ on CTV
Andre Gagne : Nov 21.2007This Saturday, November 24th at 5 pm (PST), tune in to CTV’s First Story. This week’s feature is called "Klabona." Klabona is the area otherwise known as the Sacred Headwaters, situated in the heart of Tahltan territory, about 500 km north of Smithers, BC.
The episode is expected to address resource development controversies affecting the area. The region is ultra-rich with coal deposits. Fortune Minerals has proposed a coal mine for the area while Royal Dutch Shell seeks to extract methane from the abundant coal beds. Both companies have been blockaded from the ecologically sensitive area, orchestrated primarily by the Klabona Keepers (a Tahltan FN group of elders and concerned citizens based out of Iskut BC) and helped along by the Telegraph Creek elders and non-profit groups such as the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition. Klabona Keepers have as their mission and purpose to keep the area free from irresponsible industrial development.
Situated at the source of three major salmon-bearing rivers, Klabona is so rich in wildlife, some refer to the area as the Serengeti of the north. As the Sacred Headwaters name indicates, the region is also of utmost spiritual significance to many who reside in the area. Join us in supporting those who are on the ground in the area standing up for sacred land, fish, wildlife and culture rather than development at any cost.