Carcross/Tagish First Nation 'in the driver's seat' for remediation projects

The Carcross/Tagish First Nation (C/TFN) in the Yukon will play a leading role in the clean-up of several contaminated sites on or near its traditional territory, after the signing of an agreement this week with the federal government.

One federal official says it puts the First Nation "in the driver's seat" for the remediation projects.

The governance agreement covers the remediation of three contaminated legacy sites on or adjacent to the First Nation's traditional territory: the former Arctic Gold and Silver mine site, the former Venus mine site, and the former site of the Chooutla residential school. 

Darla-Jean Lindstrom, the deputy chief of the First Nation said "it feels wonderful," that the sites are going to be cleaned up.

"It took a long time for it to happen," she said.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday on top of Montana Mountain, at the site of the former Arctic Gold and Silver mine and mill, which operated from the early 1800s to the mid-19th century.

The Venus mine site is on the shore of Windy Arm, south of Carcross. Both that site and the Arctic Gold and Silver site contain toxic tailings and other mine waste. 

First Nations were using the area for hunting, gathering food and traditional medicines, and other activities long before the mines moved in.  

"[The sites] are damaging to the lands and the animals that go up there and the berries that we pick," said Lindstrom. "So we're quite grateful for this time to get it cleaned up and look after Mother Nature, because it really looks after us."

The new agreement also covers some cleanup at the Chooutla site, including some hydrocarbons in the soil. The Chooutla school operated from 1911 to 1969. After it closed, the building remained in place for many years before the First Nation helped demolish it in 1993.

Rob Wright, the associate deputy minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, signed the new agreement on Wednesday on behalf of the federal government. He says the innovative part of the agreement is how it puts C/TFN "in the driver's seat," when it comes to remediating the contaminated sites. 

"They are going to be leading the remediation of their lands, working in partnership with us. And this is just a fantastic shift in our relationship and partnership. I think it's a step forward in the way we work together," he said. 

'Not just clean up and go away'

Stephen Mooney is the president of the Carcross Tagish Group of Companies, the First Nation's development corporation. It was put in charge of monitoring the sites and contracting workers for future remediation projects. 

He says the economic impact of these remediation projects won't just stop at cleaning up the sites. 

"It's not just clean up and go away. We want to show that social economic impact in the community, work with locals, have that training. This project could be a five- to seven-year cleanup… After that cleanup is done, we can get training, we can get assets," Mooney said. 

He says future work will be kept in the community. So far this includes repairing and upgrading old roads, aggregating materials, and possible future infrastructure projects related to capitalizing on tourism from Skagway, Alaska. 

Immediate next steps, says Mooney,  include, "more community consultation," which will lead to the design on how to handle the remediation process safely and to make sure they meet the closure objectives. 

While everything may seem easy on paper, Shane Wally, a land steward for Carcross Tagish Group of Companies on Montana Mountain, says he still feels quite nervous about the amount of contaminants on the Arctic Gold and Silver site. 

He's been working on the mountain since he was 15 and is now in his early 30s. Along with general contaminants from different mining debris, Wally and his crew have also found buried barrels of used oil on the site. 

"I'm just wondering how we'll go about doing everything real safely and not trying to spread around more dirty dust and that up and down the mountain, since we're gonna be using the road going up and down from the site," he said. 

"You know, 'cause we don't wanna spread more contamination around the area."

Contaminated and unsafe areas on Montana Mountain have been fenced off, with signs warning the public not to trespass. 

When remediation operations begin on the mountain, trucks will most likely be using the main roads up to the sites — Wally says the public is encouraged to take alternative trails up the mountain, like Moose Trail.