十二年前，加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省（BC省）的塔尔坦原住民部落曾通过阻断道路来抗议“红克里斯”（Red Chris）铜矿的开采，但如今该项目已为其创造了数百个就业机会以及数百万美元的特许权使用费。目前，运营商纽蒙特公司正在筹备该铜矿的大规模扩张。加拿大政府于7月2日宣布将为此注资5亿加元（约合3.5亿美元），该扩张计划也获得了塔尔坦部落的同意。然而，在美加边境的另一侧，阿拉斯加的美国原住民部落则因环境风险而深感担忧。

BC省矿业繁荣的背后是全球对关键金属的激增需求，以及加拿大为应对唐纳德·特朗普关税而发展本土工业的政策。在BC省，至少有八个已建或拟建的矿场位于流向阿拉斯加的河流源头之上。红克里斯铜矿便位于斯蒂金河的支流，而该河流直接流经阿拉斯加的兰格尔镇，这里是特林吉特原住民的家园。兰格尔居民极度依赖河中的三文鱼和沿岸的野生动物生存，2014年BC省另一处铜矿尾矿坝泄露的事故让他们坚信，上游采矿排出的有毒废水将彻底摧毁他们的传统生活方式。

尽管BC省在2019年通过法案赋予原住民广泛的立法协商权，且加拿大最高法院在2021年裁定跨国部落的美国成员可被视为加拿大原住民，但这并未帮助到阿拉斯加原住民。塔尔坦中央政府主席Kerry Carlick明确拒绝承认阿拉斯加部落在其领地内的权利，而BC省政府也在今年4月立法，明确将阿拉斯加部落排除在关键环境决策程序之外。这使得利益受损的阿拉斯加原住民只能通过不列颠哥伦比亚省最高法院和美洲人权委员会继续进行法律诉讼，而塔尔坦部落在去年12月又以每名成员获得1万美元及后续补偿的条件，批准了另一座流向阿拉斯加河流上的新矿场。

Twelve years ago, the indigenous Tahltan Nation blocked roads in British Columbia (BC), Canada, to protest the Red Chris copper mine. Today, the mine provides them with hundreds of jobs and millions in royalties. As the operator, Newmont, prepares for a major expansion, the Canadian government announced a C$500 million ($350 million) investment on July 2, with the Tahltan's approval. However, across the border in Alaska, indigenous groups fear environmental disaster. The mining boom in BC's "Golden Triangle" is driven by rising demand for critical metals and Canada's response to Donald Trump's tariffs.

Red Chris sits on a tributary of the Stikine River, which flows past Wrangell, Alaska, home to the Tlingit people. The Tlingit rely heavily on the river for salmon, game, and cultural practices. Consequently, they worry that toxic mining waste from Red Chris and seven other proposed or active mines upstream in BC will contaminate their waters. Their fears are heightened by memories of a 2014 tailings-dam rupture at another BC mine. To protect their livelihood, the Tlingit and neighboring tribes have filed a lawsuit in BC’s Supreme Court and petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Although BC passed a landmark law in 2019 to consult indigenous nations, and a 2021 Canadian Supreme Court ruling recognized American members of transborder tribes as indigenous Canadians, Alaskan tribes face exclusion. Kerry Carlick, president of the Tahltan Central Government, dismissed the Alaskans' claims, and BC's provincial government passed a law in April explicitly locking Alaskan tribes out of key environmental decision-making. The legal battle continues as stakes rise; in December, the Tahltan approved another mine on an Alaska-bound river in exchange for $10,000 per member and future financial promises.

Source: Americans and Canadians are squabbling over mines

Subtitle: The frontier complicates disagreements between indigenous groups

Dateline: Jul 09, 2026 05:23 AM | Wrangell