“We are born into this”: Meet the First Nations leader who defeated a mining behemothMarilyn Baptist
“We are born into this”: Meet the First Nations leader who defeated a mining behemothMarilyn Baptiste on the fight to defeat one of British Columbia’s biggest, and destructive, minesEven in a region known for massive, potentially havoc-wreaking open-pit mines, Prosperity Mine, one of the largest ever proposed in British Columbia, stood out. In order to build the gold and copper mine, Vancouver-based Taseko Mines Limited planned to drain nearby Fish Lake, home to the Xeni Gwet’in, or Nemiah Valley Indian Band, one of the six communities that form the Tsilhqot’in Nation.That the mine was never built is thanks in large part to the efforts of Marilyn Baptiste, the tribe’s elected councillor and former chief, who led efforts to convince the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) of the spiritual, environmental and economic importance of the Nemiah Valley. It was an ugly, years-long battle, but TML’s efforts to exploit the land were eventually blocked not once, but twice, by the federal government.Baptiste hardly sees herself as an activist. ”As most indigenous peoples around the world, since contact we’ve had to protect our land, our people, our way of life and our future generations,” she told Salon. “This is part of our everyday life, this is what we live and we breathe.”This past April, Baptiste was nonetheless awarded the Goldman Prize, the world’s largest environmental prize, for her work organizing her community in opposition to the mine and, when it came down to it, acting as a one-woman blockade against construction crews.Read the interview and watch the video hereGO MARILYN!!! -- source link
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