By Karl Fluri
The Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation’s latest court challenge to the KSM Mine Project in northwestern BC represents more than a single community’s fight against environmental destruction. It is a profound act of defiance against a centuries-old system of colonialism and exploitation. This struggle, rooted in the defense of their lands, culture and sovereignty, echoes the broader history of First Nations in Canada and their battles against the incursions of mining corporations. These broader implications demand our attention and compel us to confront the systemic injustices that underlie this conflict.
The KSM Mine Project – dubbed the largest gold, copper and silver mine in the world – is a prime example of the capitalist method of resource extraction, which aims to maximize profit at the expense of human and environmental consequences. The practice of multinational corporations exploiting Indigenous peoples’ lands, particularly in the Global South, is not exclusive to Canada. From the Congo Basin to the Amazon rainforest, we observe the same pattern: extraction for the enrichment of a select few, leaving behind environmental damage, shattered communities and rising inequality.
A semblance of progress has been made in Canada, as provincial governments including British Columbia have ratified the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). However, as the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation case illustrates, these statements frequently fall short of being followed by meaningful action. The acceptance of the KSM Mine Project demonstrates a structural disrespect for the UNDRIP’s core tenet of free, prior and informed consent. This failure reflects the incapacity or unwillingness of the Canadian state – a capitalist state rooted in settler colonialism – to balance its promises to Indigenous rights with its extractive economy.
“Toxic byproducts” will be stored in an artificial pond next to “the pristine natural waterways the Nation relies on for food and traditional practices,” the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation said in their statement, mentioning that KSM technology is “as mines whose toxic waste facilities have [failed] and caused massive environmental devastation.”
“The province has repeatedly acknowledged the planned location of KSM’s tailings waste is in Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha territory, yet for years they have ignored, and allowed Seabridge to ignore, the Nation’s attempts to have its concerns addressed,” Ryan Beaton, the Nation’s attorney, said in the statement. “They have obligations under the Constitution and UNDRIP to meaningfully engage with the Nation about those concerns and have failed to do so.”
The Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation had requested recognition of rights to the area where the tailings would be collected, but “these rights are not currently recognized by the government,” according to a statement made by Seabridge’s vice-president, R. Brent Murphy. “The area asserted by TSKLH includes the area contained within the Nisga’a final agreement and is recognized by the British Columbia Government as part of the traditional territory of the Tahltan Nation,” he stated. “Both of these nations support the KSM Project and the substantially started determination.”
In addition to submitting letters from the three major Indigenous peoples in the region endorsing the substantial start determination, the business claimed to have spent $444 million on developing the elements outlined in their environmental assessment certificate. The firm stated that the substantial start determination will be in effect in the interim and that a final decision on the First Nation’s petition may not be made for a year or longer.
“Throughout our subsequent permitting processes, we have actively invited and encouraged all our Indigenous partners, including TSKLH, to participate meaningfully in every one of our project review processes,” Murphy stated. “However, for many of these review processes, TSKLH has declined invitations to participate despite our efforts to fund TSKLH’s costs of participation.”
According to the Nation’s statement, although the corporation claims to have communicated with them, their concerns have been ignored.
Division has long been a tactic used by capitalists and colonists to keep control. This includes taking advantage of internal conflicts within oppressed populations to erode group opposition, as well as promoting division and eroding solidarity by recognizing and elevating some countries, groups or leaders above others.
Projects like the KSM Mine demonstrate how recognition has been weaponized, enabling corporations and capitalist governments to justify their exploitation while ignoring the opinions of those who disagree. Since recognition is no longer a genuine affirmation of rights and sovereignty but rather a means of coopting and neutralizing dissent, such strategies erode unity and uphold structural inequality.
Proponents of the mine may argue that this opposition is anti-growth. In reality, it is a demand for development that respects Indigenous peoples’ rights and the boundaries of Earth’s ecosystems. First Nations have proposed alternative economic models based on sustainability and communal well-being, providing a vision of advancement that challenges capitalism’s obsession with unending expansion.
The values of justice and stewardship are fundamentally at odds with business motivation. Under the current system, companies like Seabridge Gold approach natural resources like commodities, exploiting the land for financial gain rather than as essential components of the ecosystems and civilizations that rely on them.
Nationalizing resources is a key step in the path forward. Public ownership would make it possible to manage resource extraction democratically while giving equal economic distribution, environmental sustainability and respect for Indigenous sovereignty top priority. To ensure that everyone benefits rather than just a select few, the money made from natural resources might be reinvested in communities. Furthermore, under the guidance of Indigenous knowledge systems and the principles of free, prior and informed consent delineated in UNDRIP, nationalized enterprises might implement stringent environmental regulations.
The repercussions of the opposition to the KSM Mine Project go well beyond British Columbia. It is part of a global fight against the forces of capitalism, which puts profit above people and the environment. Whether this resistance is successful or not will have an impact on other movements globally, affecting the tactics and spirits of individuals who oppose comparable injustices. It is important that we all stand in solidarity with the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation and other similar land defenders.
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