The Chilkat Indian Village is mandated by our Tribal Constitution to protect the natural and cultural resources of the Jilkaat Kwaan for future generations. We cannot do this work alone. We ask you to stand with us and take action to support our efforts.
Contribute
Stay Informed
Learn
Speak Up
Learn
Action fails without a strong base of knowledge. The mining issue is complex, multifaceted, and ever-changing. We encourage everyone to learn the facts. Knowledge is power.
Go to our “Palmer Project” pages to learn about the history of the project, their plans moving forward, and their projected impact upon our economy and waterways.
Go to our “Concerns” pages to better understand evidence suggesting that the mine will jeopardize our waterways, and therefore our economy, way of live, and community longevity of the entire Chilkat Valley.
Go to our “Chilkat Valley Resources” pages to learn more about the resources upon which we depend in order to understand why we are unwilling to risk threatening these resources.
We recognize that we cannot provide all the necessary information and we encourage you to engage with other resources outside of our site.
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Speak Up
Words can have a profound impact when care is put into when, how, and what is said. Here are a few avenues through which your voice can make an impact. This list is regularly updated as the project progresses and changes.
Ask DOWA to divest their shares in Constantine.
DOWA Metals and Mining Co. supports Constantine Minerals Ltd. at 49%. Many large mining companies like DOWA will stop funding projects when their is significant local protest, particularly indigenous protest.
There are two ways to take action:
1. Send a direct personalized email. You can say something like this:
“The Palmer VMS Project is in the headwaters of a healthy salmon river, upstream of a traditional indigenous community and a robust fishing and tourism economy. The project is situated in an extreme environment, amid glaciers and avalanche paths, along seismic faults. Polluting this pristine watershed is inevitable with a project like Palmer. We will stand with the Chilkat Indian Village to help prevent this project from moving into production. Please divest your interest in this hazardous, unethical project.”
Subject Line: Palmer VMS Project Threatens Indigenous Communities
Send to: metalmine@dowa.co.jp
2. Send an email to DOWA through American Rivers, a national non-profit. This template is also customizable. Click here to access form.
Support the Chilkat Indian Village in requesting government-to-government consultations with the State of Alaska.
Background: Governor Dunleavy’s Administration refused the Chilkat Indian Village’s request to establish government-to-government consultation on the Constantine-Palmer Project. As a Native Sovereign Nation organized by acts of Congress, the Chilkat Indian Village has a right to consult with both the Federal and State governments on a government-to-government basis. While the State government made a commitment to consult with Federally recognized tribes such as the Chilkat Indian Village (source: Millenium Agreement), the State is failing to establish fair and meaningful involvement with CIV in regards to the Palmer Project.
Action: Join us in writing to Governor Dunleavy’s office. You can say something like this:
“The State of Alaska has a legal obligation to establish meaningful and cooperative consultation with all Federally Recognized Tribes of Alaska, as determined by the Millenium Agreement between Federally Recognized Sovereign Tribes of Alaska and the State of Alaska in 2001. As a Federally Recognized Tribe, the Chilkat Indian Village has been repeatedly ignored regarding the issues of permitting the Palmer VMS Mine. I am concerned because this project could have a detrimental impact on our watershed and therefore the Tribe’s economy, heritage, and community longevity. I stand with the Chilkat Indian Village in requesting meaningful communication and consultation regarding this crucial issue.”
Send to:
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 110001
Juneau, AK 99811-0001
(907) 465-3500
Public Comment
Currently there are no opportunities for formal public comment.
Contribute
Our work demands hard work, time, resources, and therefore money. Every contribution helps us do more to learn, plan, and take action.
The Chilkat Indian Village will spend over $50,000.00 annually do the following:
Develop a baseline water quality analysis of the watershed.
Engage in government-to-government consultation.
While these are actions that should be carried out by the state and federal government, they are not. Therefore, CIV is shouldering the burden and costs.
Your support allows us to strive to protect the tremendous resources of national and international significance that make up the Jilkaat Kwaan Territory while securing the human and indigenous rights of our people.
Donations are tax deductible via Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center. All proceeds go directly to the Chilkat Indian Village’s Environmental Program. This is an ongoing fundraising campaign. There are no minimum or maximum limits for GoFundMe fundraisers.
Stay Informed
This issue is constantly changing. Constantine reforms their plans, permitters make decisions, and new scientific data is produced. As an organization, Constantine Metals Ltd. is well organized with detailed plans and well-informed thinkers. In order to be two steps ahead we as a community must be twice as knowledgeable.
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