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'Take down the dam': Rio Tinto Alcan sued over B.C. river damage

Two B.C. First Nations suing one of the world's biggest mining companies over a northern river say they want Rio Tinto Alcan to dismantle a major dam built 67 years ago.

"They can take down the Kenney Dam and restore everything to the way it was in 1952," Stellat'en Chief Archie Patrick told CBC on the steps of the Prince George courthouse. "We're seeing it to the end."

Betsy Trumpener/CBC
Betsy Trumpener/CBC

Take down the dam

The Saik'uz and Stellat'en First Nations are in court to press their lawsuit against Rio Tinto Alcan, B.C., and Canada.

They contend that a dam built to generate hydro power and smelt aluminum at Alcan's Kitimat plant also reversed the river's course and diverted 70 per cent of the water flow for industrial use.

The First Nations say it's caused more than half a century of environmental degradation, harm to sturgeon and salmon, and damage to constitutionally protected Aboriginal rights.

"I'm the fourth generation of my family who's been fighting for the rights on the river. We want it restored," said Saik'uz band councillor Jasmine Thomas.

'The Great River is Flowing'

The Nechako is a major tributary that flows into the Fraser River.

Thomas said in her Carrier language, Nechako means 'the great river is flowing."

But she says that's changed dramatically since the government granted Alcan a water licence, and the company built a dam that reversed its flow.

It's led to a sharp decline in salmon stocks. Sturgeon, a giant fish from the dinosaur era, is now an endangered species in the Nechako.

Rio Tinto Alcan uses the river water to power its aluminum smelter on B.C.'s north coast and to sell hydroelectric power.

Alcan created jobs

Its water diversion has created almost 2,000 jobs at its smelter, making it one of the biggest employers in northwest B.C.

Betsy Trumpener/CBC
Betsy Trumpener/CBC

A 200 day trial over the river's fate began in Vancouver in October in B.C. Supreme Court.

This week, court hearings moved to Prince George, so that local elders could give testimony and listen in on the proceedings..

On Monday morning, as nine black robed lawyers took their seats, seven Indigenous elders in full regalia smudged the judge's bench, waved spruce bows and sprinkled eagle feathers on the red carpet.

The elders told people in the packed court room that they were performing a cleansing ceremony.

Salmon 'all the time'

Betsy William, an 81 year old elder from Saik'uz, was the first to take the witness stand. She described her family and nation's fishing practices before the Kenney Dam was built.

Betsy Trumpener/CBC
Betsy Trumpener/CBC

"All the time — salmon," William told the court. " [You] just catch so much, it last til the next run."

The court hearings continue in Prince George this week, before returning to the Vancouver courthouse.

Rio Tinto Alcan has declined to comment while the matter is before the courts.

Cheslatta Carrier Nation/Contributed
Cheslatta Carrier Nation/Contributed