Taku River Tlingit First Nation

Taku River Tlingit First Nation is located in northern British Columbia. Up here, humans haven’t made the immense impact on the earth that they have in the rest of North America. Visiting the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, you’ll find miles and miles of pristine, untouched, unspoiled, glorious nature.

The Taku River watershed where this First Nation resides is a 4.5 million acre area near a town called Atlin. It isn’t an easy area to get to; in fact, until recently, there were no roads. Members of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation had to fly, boat or walk to get around. And that was the way they liked it.

A Natural Wonderland

Because of its isolation, the Taku River watershed has remained basically unchanged. There are five biogeoclimatic zones within the region ranging from high plateaus to coastal temperate rainforests. Wildlife that hasn’t survived in other areas of Canada because of encroaching humans continues to thrive here.

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Grizzlies, black bears, moose, sheep, caribou and mountain goats wander the Taku River watershed. Six kinds of wild salmon thrive in its pure waters: sockeye, Coho, pink, Chinook, steelhead and chum. Lake trout, bull trout, round whitefish, slimy sculpin and pike, among other fish, keep them company while bald eagles soar across blue skies.

Taku River Tlingit First Nation is proud of the fact that its traditional lands have remained virtually untouched by society. The wildlife population and wild pacific salmon are important to the First Nation as well as to the world; after all, very few areas of North America have escaped so-called civilization. This is wilderness area, and the Taku River Tlingit First Nation would like to keep it that way.

Changing Times

Unfortunately, mining has come to the watershed. An access road is being built through this First Nation’s lands. The effect of construction and the ongoing presence of industry in the area can’t be predicted, but many people are concerned about the destruction of this unique area. Those concerns led to the development of a special conservancy and an original policy to help protect the land and water of this area.

The T'akhu  Tlèn Conservancy was established to protect the Taku River watershed. The group funds and facilitates programs and activities that will preserve the local flora, fauna and habitats.

In addition, Taku River Tlingit First Nation was the first First Nation in the country to develop a comprehensive mining policy to guide how it will deal with mining-related proposals in their territory. The 17-page policy, designed to protect the land over the long term, was introduced in 2007.

This First Nation lives on two reserves, Five Mile Reserve and Town Site Reserve, which borders Atlin. There are about 370 members with around 100 living on reserve.

Just the Stats, Please

Statistics for Five Mile Reserve

Source: Statistics Canada)

2006 population 95

2001 population 97

Population change (%) -2.1

Total private dwellings 45

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents 40

Population density per square kilometer 9.5

Land area (square km) 10.04