By Adam Donnelly

SSN designates Jacko Lake as heritage site

Jun 20, 2017 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — On March 4th, 2017 the Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwepemc Nation announced they unequivocally opposed the proposed KGHM-Ajax Copper and Gold Mine. Their decision came after a long and considered review of the mine proposal and has since been backed by over 30 local, provincial, and national organisations which support the indigenous group’s claims that the mine will cause irreparable harm to Jacko Lake and the surrounding grasslands. Today, the SSN unveiled a new exhibit at the Secwepemc Heritage Museum, showcasing the importance of the site they call Pipsell.

On June 11th, members of the Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwepemc Nation gathered at Jacko Lake – a place known in their language as Pipsell – to formally designate the area as a Secwépemc Nation Cultural Heritage Site.

“Embedded in that lake is a story,” Skeetchestn Chief Ron Ignace explained. “That [story] covers not only the aquifer but also covers the land and the sky… our stories, if you will, are our deeds to the land.”

Today, the SSN and many of their Allies gathered at the Secwepemc Heritage Museum to unveil a new exhibit, commemorating the group’s historic decision rejecting KGHM’s proposed Ajax Mine, as well as the official designation of Jacko Lake as an area of supreme cultural importance to the Secwepemc people.

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The exhibit includes a 3D model of the mine and the surrounding area. It’s a piece which Tk’emlups Chief Fred Seymour believes puts the potential impact of the mine into perspective for people.

“Now that all the people can see it here, they’ll know how devastating it will be if it ever goes in,” Seymour says.

Ajax Project Manager Chris Wilde believes KGHM could limit the environmental impact the open pit mine would have on the site.

“The pit does encroach slightly on the northeast arm of Jacko Lake,” Wild explained. “The impacts on the fishery, in particular, are very small.”

He believes there’s a way for the mine to move forward while ensuring the integrity of the lake.

“We understand the First Nations sensitivity to Jacko Lake,” Wild says. “We’ve certainly had lots of great conversations around that. How we resolve that will require a little bit more conversation, but we’re certainly open to that.

But for the Chiefs of the SSN, the connection between their people and the land make that site off limits to this or any future development.

According to Seymour: “My motto here is ‘Take that fight to the land’ so that people that don’t understand… [when] they’re out on the land, they’ll recognise what we’re fighting for.”

Ignace says “Let’s put it this way: we’ve been on Secwepemcúlecw for 10,000 years. You can extrapolate from that how long we’ve been dealing with areas such as Jacko Lake.”