Klukwan residents led a water blessing ceremony Thursday to honor the Chilkat River watershed and the life it sustains in its valley, as locals protest a proposed mine in the area.
Under a steady rain, organizers set up shelters and started a fire by the bridge over the Klehini River, 26 miles from Haines. They held hands and listened to Lani Hotch tell the story of how Raven brought fresh water to the world.
”We have very deep roots here, and we feel a keen sense of responsibility to protect the river for future generations who will live here,” Hotch said. “And not just humans. The eagles are our neighbors, the bears are our neighbors, the wolves.”
Hotch said she sees eagles pick salmon out of the river, sometimes out of her own fishing net. She said she often finds the remnants of those fish at the bottom of a tree. The carcasses decompose into the soil and feed the trees, keeping the forest alive. Hotch said this healthy interconnection is threatened by the Palmer Project, a large hard-rock mine that is being planned upstream from her village.
“We don’t want the mine, we don’t need the mine,” Hotch said. “Extraction economies, they are destructive, it’s not something we should build our hopes on. It doesn’t pay off in the long run. These salmon have supported our people for countless generations.”
The crowd had grown to over 150 people by noon. Organizer Nancy Keen led children in songs and activities.
“We place a message onto a piece of wood. A prayer to the water,” she said. “Klehini River. And just say a prayer, and give it back to the water. So now we have these kids here, and they are about to do the same.”
Finally, the crowd moved toward the bridge carrying signs: “Nurture our wild river.” “We are all in this together.” “Protect the Klehini.” “Our rhythms are connected, and irreplaceable.” “No to the Palmer Project, keep the river clean.”
They stopped in the middle of the bridge and waited for Lani Hotch to speak. She was wearing the Chilkat River robe, with symbols representing the five species of Salmon that return to spawn in the watershed.
Hotch began the ceremony: “Father God, Our Creator. Ever present Spirit. We need your help today. Out river, we want to protect it. We want it to flow in good health, in perpetuity, forever.”
Participants cast their pieces of wood and their blessing into the river, and Tribal Council President Kimberley Strong spoke.
“I think that we’ve never come out and said we are in opposition to the mine,” she said. “We support the environment and the way of our lives that our ancestors have taught us. I am afraid of this hard rock acid mine, and what it will do to us.”
The crowd then slowly walked off the bridge.
Klukwan resident Daniel Klanott was also at the event.
“I’m here today to stand with everybody else on protecting the water,” he said. “We need to protect the water to protect the salmon, because salmon is a way of life in this valley.”
Resident Jack Strong agreed.
“I live in Klukwan. This is our life, it always has been our life for thousands of years. And I can’t see why we would want to change anything. For what? What is the gain for the world? To take and ruin this? Nothing,” he said.
Strong described her own role at the event.
“I’m not the person that developed this event, I am here because as a community leader, you follow your people. And so I’m here following my people who want to protect the environment and our river and our way of life.”
An international tribunal has recently agreed to hear a case brought by a coalition of Southeast Alaska Native groups. They claim upstream pollution from Canadian mines violates their right to life, health, wellbeing and the “benefits of culture.”
Nancy Keen said she sees this regional organizing as positive.
“We are going to be at the table and speak to these things that we know we have a right to speak to,” she said. “The inherent right to our traditional foods. The way that we are going to take care of our world in a good way.”
Hotch agreed.
“Why is it OK to dump toxic waste? Is it because our people don’t count? What’s up with that?” she said. “We need social justice for all people. We are not going to sit back and be quiet about it. This is our life, this is our way of life, this is our home.”
Representatives for Constantine Metals, who owns the Palmer project, did not respond to a request for comments on their relationship with the Chilkat Indian Village.
