Message from the President

Message from

the President

Below: Fall mountain goat hunt outside Telegraph Creek.

Chad Norman Day

President, Tahltan Central Government

Welcome to our second annual Tahltan Central Government (TCG) Fish & Wildlife Newsletter. I am extremely proud to share that in September, our first annual Fish & Wildlife Newsletter was recognized by the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) and their National Awards of Excellence 2021, winning Silver under the Best Publication Category.

Then in October, we were notified the same Newsletter is a finalist under the External Publication (Print or Online) for a Platinum PR Award, which is an international award hailed as the most coveted and competitive award in the communications space.

This is an accomplishment that all Tahltans can take pride in. I must thank our entire TCG Team, particularly Gordon Infanti, TCG Communications & External Relations Director, for leading this project. The other key staff leaders include TCG’s Multimedia Director Adam Amir, Fisheries Director Cheri Frocklage, Wildlife Director Lance Nagwan, and Communications Specialist Ombrielle Neria for their co-creation and collaboration. Our Nation continues to be challenged as we navigate through unprecedented times. In this past year, COVID-19 has impacted our homeland and communities more than ever, as well as many Tahltan families living elsewhere. This has meant we have had to sacrifice and step up to support each other, our families, and our communities. It has not been easy, but we are in this together. Thank you to our Emergency Management Committee (EMC) in all our communities, our members, and teams working in the background every day to keep our people safe.

When I started as the President of the TCG, I possessed little firsthand experience with hunting and fishing and the TCG had no wildlife staff or department in place. This changed when we established the TCG Wildlife Department a few years ago and I began to spend more time in the wilderness throughout Tahltan Territory to hunt, fish and learn about our cultural traditions with our Elders, TCG staff and various wildlife entrepreneurs and professionals. Over the past couple years my children and I have successfully hunted moose for our family and local Elders, we harvested multiple Grizzly Bears in wellestablished ungulate calving grounds, and we were recently successful with our first fall mountain goat hunt outside of Telegraph Creek.

Each time I have gone out hunting and/or fishing we have ventured into a different area of our Tahltan Territory, which has provided me a more wholistic understanding of our homeland and some of the distinct opportunities, issues, and the cultural/ historical significance of each area. In addition, these adventures have allowed me to spend quality time and build strong relationships with many of our Wildlife Guardians and other TCG staff, which has otherwise been challenging during the pandemic. As Tahltan people, no matter where we live or how we grew up, it is never too late to return to our homeland and learn our culture. Indeed, the time I have spent out on the land has kept me grounded and helped me improve as a Leader, Father and as a Tahltan.

From birth, Tahltans are taught that our homeland is ours – Tahltan Territory was never surrendered to anyone, and our ancestors fought, shed blood and died so future generations of Tahltans had lands, healthy ecosystems and resources that would allow us to thrive. We have a responsibility to honour our ancestors by stewarding our land properly, which includes managing wildlife and fisheries in a good way that will allow our Tahltan rights and title to be inherited by future generations. This newsletter is designed to inform Tahltans of the ongoing activities of TCG’s Fisheries Department and Wildlife Department, and to celebrate their ongoing hard work, success, and growth. Since joining the TCG last year, the Fisheries Department has been evolving and taking on more projects than ever. The Fisheries staff is an amazing group of individuals who work diligently through the season, often in isolated locations away from our Tahltan communities and the public. I look forward to getting to know them better, hopefully next year in the field if COVID-19 restrictions allow this to happen. I have been thoroughly impressed with the leadership and collaborative approach displayed by Cheri Frocklage and Kerry Carlick since the Fisheries Department officially joined the TCG and appreciate their thorough updates to our Tahltan Nation.

Above: Skinning the mountain goat and cleaning it's hide.

After a contentious hunting season last year, the TCG Wildlife Department has remained steadfast with their advocation for better wildlife management through working alongside the Province and continuing to gather important data and information on multiple species throughout Tahltan Territory. The collaborative efforts with the 3Nations (Tahltan, Kaska, Tlingit) are ongoing and we are always advocating for additional funds and collaborative initiatives with the Province to create additional growth and success in our territories.

This year we successfully had more joint patrols with Tahltan Guardians and BC Conservation Officers, which improves accountability measures and safety throughout the hunting season. As data continues to showcase a decline in caribou populations and some moose populations, the Wildlife Department continues to implement the Tahltan Predator Management Policy and the TCG continues to encourage Tahltan members to harvest predators, particularly in key ungulate calving areas.

Our policy is intended to help stabilize wildlife populations, protect local communities, encourage culturally important Tahltan practices, and to set a strong foundation for future wildlife management practices and initiatives.

Below: Grizzly harvested on ungulate calving grounds. The policy encourages and incentivizes Tahltan members to exercise their constitutionally protected Aboriginal hunting rights to harvest predatory species, including black bears, grizzly bears, and wolves. Declining fish stocks have meant that Tahltans have been encouraged to conserve Chinook, also known as our King Salmon. The same can also be said about our dwindling Caribou populations, so we are encouraging Tahltans to hunt other ungulates for their food sources instead. The TCG is responsible for advocating for our fish and wildlife, and we as Tahltan individuals must collectively also do our part to remain informed and work together to manage our wildlife effectively. It is our right to harvest, but our obligation is to protect our fish and wildlife populations when they reach a certain point of vulnerability. Please understand that our Chinook and Caribou populations need our help more than ever right now.

Through the Tahltan Stewardship Initiative (TSI) much work is being done to support our Nation to fulfill its inherent stewardship responsibilities for all lands, water, wildlife, fish, and natural resources. The TSI is an opportunity for transformative change based on the recognition of Tahltan Rights and Title. It includes work involving the Communications & External Relations, Culture & Heritage, Fisheries, Lands and Wildlife Departments. TSI has a team of leaders, negotiators, experts, and legal counsel working together to achieve our goals. I encourage Tahltans to get involved in this important work. We will be launching a new TSI website for members to learn about this work and participate.

Connected to the TSI, the TCG is actively meeting with the Province of British Columbia to discuss and work to agreeable solutions on many of the issues impacting our homeland. I was very clear and assertive with the Province on many occasions when I have said, “There will be no world class mining jurisdiction in Tahltan Territory unless we can ensure we also have world class wildlife and fisheries management.” We are working to build the foundation of a new, enduring, resilient government-to-government relationship. One transformed, based on truth, best practices and recognition of Tahltan Rights and Title.

In closing, I want to emphasize and reiterate how grateful the TCG Team and Tahltan people are for the hard work and sacrifices of the Fisheries Department and Wildlife Department. Their hard work, long days in the wilderness, and ongoing growth and success is inspiring on so many different levels. Our TCG team is honoured to keep advocating for them, both internally and externally, so we can continue to build capacity, fund new initiatives and collectively ensure we have healthy and stable fish and wildlife populations for our Tahltan people for generations to come.

Klane Nedischā. “The TCG is responsible for advocating for our fish and wildlife, and we as Tahltan individuals must collectively also do our part to remain informed and work together to manage our wildlife effectively. It is our right to harvest, but our obligation is to protect our fish and wildlife populations when they reach a certain point of vulnerability. Please understand that our Chinook and Caribou populations need our help more than ever right now.”

Above: Family moose hunt.