The Narwhal
A Yukon First Nation is calling on the territorial government to abolish its wide-open process for recognizing mineral claims, citing colonial underpinnings that have brought waves of miners to the territory since the advent of the Klondike Gold Rush.
Under Yukon’s free entry system, prospectors can stake a claim anywhere they want, as long as it isn’t in a park or on certain municipal or settlement lands, for instance.
This outdated legislation hands over the rights to miners while removing First Nations from the consultation equation, according to Carcross/Tagish First Nation. The nation voiced this concern in its response to a request for comments on a Yukon Mineral Development Strategy now in the works for the territory.
An independent panel is currently collecting feedback from Yukon residents as part of developing this strategy, which could lead to improvements to existing legislation.
“Despite the First Nation’s efforts, the Yukon’s current mineral legislation and management regime places short-sighted economic gain above the land-use practices that have supported Indigenous Peoples for generations,” the Carcross/Tagish submission says.
For the rest of this article: https://thenarwhal.ca/yukon-first-nation-abolish-colonial-mine-staking/