West Moberly First Nations is pursuing a legal challenge against British Columbia, BC Hydro and Canada for infringement of constitutionally protected rights under Treaty No. 8. West Moberly is asking the court to stop construction of Site C dam and order BC Hydro to restore the Peace River to its natural state.
By standing in solidarity with West Moberly, you can stand for justice, help stop the dam, and heal the Peace.
“Just go somewhere else”
Site C dam, the costliest public project in B.C.’s history, threatens to eliminate the last portion of the Peace River, which is the main artery of West Moberly’s traditional territory. If completed, Site C will devastate this Indigenous Nation’s ability to live their traditional mode of life as promised by Treaty No. 8.
Site C is unsafe
BC Hydro has admitted publicly that there are significant geotechnical problems with the dam’s foundations, which caused them to designate the project health as “code red”. The B.C. government has had to initiate a project review to determine whether the dam can even be built and operated safely, and at what cost.
On February 26, 2021, Premier Horgan announced his government’s decision not to cancel the Site C project despite serious safety risks arising from bank instability at the proposed dam site. Instead, the government will plunge billions into a major redesign of the critical structures needed to support the proposed dam.
The Peace Fractured
The destruction caused by Site C would deepen past and ongoing harms. West Moberly is still living with the damage wrought by the two other unlawful hydroelectric dams blocking portions of the Peace River upstream from Site C. Sprawling over 1,800 km², the W.A.C. Bennett reservoir flooded hunting grounds and obliterated burial sites, ancient gathering places and other spiritual areas. Unable to access their ancient migration routes, what used to be a “sea of caribou” dwindled to a few tiny herds. Methylmercury - from the decaying vegetation submerged by the dam - has now been accumulating in fish within the reservoir and surrounding watershed for over 50 years, making them unsafe to eat to this day.
Read the Open Letter from West Moberly Chief Roland Willson to John Horgan, B.C. Premier, here.
“The Crown has authorized so much industrial development in West Moberly’s traditional territory that we will lose any prospect of meaningfully exercising treaty rights if Site C is completed.”
-CHIEF ROLAND WILLSON, WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS
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The Dunne-za have occupied the lands along Peace River and its tributaries since time immemorial. The Dunne-za seasonal round encompasses the Peace River and its islands, as well as the Finlay, Parsnip, Halfway and Moberly Rivers. The Peace River, Wochii in the Dunne-za language, is the main artery that tied Dunne-za territory together.
The Dunne-za have practiced a “seasonal round” that utilizes dreams, prophecies, and traditional knowledge of the lands, waters, wildlife, and ecological processes in the Peace River Valley. Trails along the Peace River and its tributaries - including above where W.A.C. Bennett dam is now - were used to access hunting grounds, gathering places, and neighbouring peoples throughout this vast territory. The integrity of the Peace River is fundamental to West Moberly’s ability to maintain a traditional lifestyle.
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