‘A blow’: First Nation Chief says she’s lost trust in Rockies conservation talks with B.C., feds
Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it Nasuʔkin (Chief) Heidi Gravelle says she’s lost confidence in discussions over the future of 200 square kilometres of land in southeast B.C.
Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡiʾit First Nation Nasuʔkin (Chief) Heidi Gravelle says she wants to see an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area managed by Ktunaxa First Nations in the Flathead Valley.
The leader of one of four Ktunaxa First Nations in B.C. says she’s lost confidence in ongoing discussions between the nations and the federal and provincial governments over land management and potential conservation measures in the Elk and Flathead valleys.
“It boils down to trust,” Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it First Nation Nasuʔkin (Chief) Heidi Gravelle said in an interview. “We definitely do not have that sense of trust right now with how this process has broken down.”
Recent discussions have centred on two parcels of land known as the Dominion coal blocks, which together cover 200 square kilometres in the Elk and Flathead valleys in Ktunaxa Nation territory in southeast B.C. The Flathead Valley, in particular, is an area where Gravelle wants to see Indigenous-led conservation.
“Our continued goal that we’ve been working on for Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it is to have an Indigenous conserved, protected area all throughout so that we can manage those lands according to our ʔAknumuȼtiⱡiⱡ, which is our natural law and our covenants that we uphold,” she said.
ʔAknumuȼtiⱡiⱡ
The Elk and Flathead watersheds are a vital link between the U.S. and Banff National Park for grizzly bears, wolverines, lynx and other animals. The area has been called “the most important wildlife corridor in all of North America,” according to a 2021 report for Parks Canada on conservation options for the Elk and Flathead valleys.
The smaller of the two coal blocks, known as parcel 73, is a 20-square-kilometre block in the Elk Valley, northeast of Fernie, B.C. To the south is parcel 82, which is much larger and includes the headwaters of the Flathead River, a cool, gravel-bottom river that flows south into Montana and supports bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout and numerous other species.
“For us in Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi‘it First Nation, the Flathead is a part of our traditional territory, our homelands,” Gravelle said. “It contributes to who we are as ʔakanuxunik’, part of the Ktunaxa speaking peoples.”
The Flathead Valley provides food, water and medicines, Gravelle said, and protecting those lands would ensure future generations have what they need to survive.
But talks over the future of the Dominion coal blocks have hit a stumbling block.
Gravelle said a combination of factors have led to a breakdown in trust. The biggest issue was when discussions initially aimed at finalizing a transfer agreement for the two parcels of land were pulled back to focus on reaching a memorandum of understanding instead, she said.
“We know how valuable [memorandums of understanding] are,” she said. “They’re only as good as a piece of paper is in the wind.”
“Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it has continued to show up and put our best foot forward and get as many of our people working on this, doing the work, getting the input and and then for it to just be halted is just a blow,” she said.
B.C. asked the federal government to transfer ownership of the Dominion coal blocks in the Flathead and Elk river watersheds in southeast B.C. Map: Shawn Parkinson / The Narwhal
Yet Gravelle said the First Nation isn’t giving up. Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it is committed to the negotiation process, she said, adding ultimately the nation is still hoping to see the Dominion coal blocks transferred to the four Ktunaxa First Nations and managed under a Ktunaxa-developed conservation plan.
She said the federal and provincial governments must also come to the table in a way that respects the government-to-government relationship and commits to seeing the land returned to Ktunaxa First Nations.
In a statement to The Narwhal, a spokesperson for B.C.’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said the provincial government remains committed to the discussions.
“We remain focused on engaging and working with the Ktunaxa First Nations and Canada to determine the best way forward for the [Dominion coal blocks],” the spokesperson said, adding the federal government is in the process of drafting a memorandum of understanding for consideration based on recent discussions.
Natural Resources Canada did not respond to The Narwhal’s request for comment before publication.
Extensive coal mining, logging has lasting consequences for Elk Valley
Oil and gas extraction and mining have been banned in the B.C. portion of the Flathead Valley since the provincial government passed the Flathead Watershed Area Conservation Act in 2010. But the legislation does not prohibit logging and it only applies to a portion of parcel 82 of the Dominion coal blocks.
The neighbouring Elk Valley, in contrast, has been heavily impacted by development. Significant coal mining has contaminated creeks and rivers and destroyed sensitive high-elevation grasslands. There’s also been extensive clearcut logging in the Elk Valley, which is home to Fernie and other communities, along with a major highway where vehicle collisions with grizzly bears and other wildlife are common.
For decades, Elk Valley coal mines have leached selenium and other contaminants into the creeks and rivers that flow through Ktunaxa Nation territory in Canada and the U.S. Photo: Callum Gunn
Gravelle said provincial and federal governments have long ignored the lasting consequences of extensive mining in the Elk Valley that were effectively sanctioned through a lack of regulations.
“They didn’t have consultation, let alone free, prior, informed consent from any First Nations groups and so now we are where we are today with a very disturbed land base,” she said.
She now fears the Flathead Valley and its tributaries could suffer a similar fate if decision-making processes aren’t transformed.
“When it comes to our land, that’s within each and every one of our First Nations people, our ʔakanuxunik’ spirit, and you can’t chip away at that and expect us to be okay,” she said.
B.C. ministers asked feds to transfer coal blocks for conservation last spring
The federal government has owned the Dominion coal blocks, which are in unceded Ktunaxa Nation territory, since 1905 when it acquired the land from the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Last spring, four B.C. government ministers asked Ottawa to transfer control of the Dominion coal blocks in a letter to Natural Resources Canada Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. The ministers, who at the time were responsible for environment, Indigenous relations, lands and mining portfolios, said the coal blocks land would help the provincial government achieve its conservation goals.
B.C. has committed to conserving 30 per cent of land and waters in the province by 2030, in line with commitments the federal government made on the international stage.
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“B.C.’s interest in holding the two parcels is to work with the recognized rights-holders to develop a plan for conservation and for ‘healing of the land,’ ” the B.C. ministers wrote in the letter.
According to a provincial briefing document The Narwhal obtained through a freedom of information request, the provincial government wanted the transfer of the Dominion coal blocks to take place in 2025 and hoped a memorandum of understanding with the federal government would be finalized before the October 2024 provincial election.
But a spokesperson for B.C.’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship told The Narwhal earlier this month that discussions are still in early stages.
“The province is supporting Ottawa in dialogue with First Nations to define how more than 20,000 hectares of federal land can be used to the benefit of First Nations and all British Columbians, including conservation opportunities,” the spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions.
For Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it First Nation, protecting the Flathead River watershed from extensive development is even more important because of extensive industrial activity in the Elk Valley, where elevated levels of selenium and other coal mine contaminants have been detected in the Upper Fording River, pictured here, and other rivers. Photo: Jayce Hawkins / The Narwhal
Carolyn Svonkin, Wilkinson’s director of issues management, said the federal government “is exploring all options for the future of the Dominion coal blocks, including conservation.”
She said Ottawa is engaging with First Nations and the province but no decisions have been made about the future of the two parcels.
Gravelle said both the provincial and federal governments need to recognize how integral First Nations leadership is to healing the land and ensuring a healthy, thriving environment.
“It is our inherent responsibility to protect those lands and to steward those lands,” she said.
Healing the land is paramount, she said. “It’s for everybody and everything.”
Another year of keeping a close watch
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And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.
In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.
And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.
In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”
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