Stop dumping trash here, says Yukon's Kwanlin Dün First Nation
'It's not coming from our citizens,' says the First Nation's justice coordinator
The Kwanlin Dün First Nation has been finding piles of garbage scattered through its territory, and it's asking the culprits to show a bit more respect.
"The environment is so precious to everybody in the Yukon, that this should just not be happening anywhere. And we certainly do not want it happening on KDFN lands," said Jeanie Dendys, the First Nation's director of justice.
"People are trying to avoid tipping fees and whatnot at the city landfill."
Dendys said they first discovered the extent of the problem last year, when the First Nation undertook an assessment of its lands.
"That's when we discovered there was a lot of dumping happening in the back part of our community, in areas you cannot see from the roads."
"It's not coming from our citizens. We did some investigating around that and worked with the city of Whitehorse last year."
She said signs were installed, and community patrols were initiated, but the problem persists.
"We just want that to stop, obviously."
With files from Leonard Linklater