Iskut is a small, mostly Indigenous community in the

Stikine Country The Stikine Country , also referred to as the Stikine District or simply "the Stikine", is one of the historical geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located inland from the central Alaska Panhandle and comprising the ...

of northwestern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. It is located on Highway 37, at the north end of Eddontenajon Lake just south of

Dease Lake Dease Lake is a small community located in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located a few hours south of the Yukon border on Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37) at the south end of the lake o ...

and the crossing of the Stikine River.

Community

Iskut is the home of Iskut First Nation, a group of the

Tahltan The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the ''Nahane' ...

people, which also includes the communities of Dease Lake and

Telegraph Creek Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in northern British Columbia at the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph Creek. The only permanent settlement on the Stikine River, it is home to approximately 250 members of Tah ...

. Two bands comprise the Tahltan Nation, the Iskut First Nation and the Tahltan First Nation or Tahltan Indian Band. Iskut Indian Reserve No. 6 and Kluachon Lake Indian Reserve No. 1 are the two formal Indian reserves in the vicinity.BCGNIS entry "Kluachon Lake Indian Reserve 1"
/ref> Klappan Independent Day School, the Iskut First Nation Band Office and the Iskut Valley Health Services building are the primary public service amenities. Shopping and gas can be purchased at Kluachon Center.

Location

Iskut is located at the 407 km mark on Highway 37 and is approximately 6–7 hours from both Terrace and Smithers and within 9 hours drive from Whitehorse, Yukon.

Recreation

Recreational activities in the area include fishing at any of the lakes of the Iskut Chain Lakes, which include, moving south to north, Nadatadasleen Lake, Kinaskan Lake, Tattoga Lake, Eddontenajon Lake and Kluachon Lake. Snowmobiling and ATVing are very popular activities for locals of the area.

Resource Development

The opening of Highway 37 through the Iskut area has supported new resource development. Ongoing mining and energy projects include the Red Chris copper and gold mine, and the Volcano Creek hydroelectric project.

Coal-bed methane conflict

Iskut is well known for the protracted disagreement over the use of the area for resource extraction. The rapid expansion of mining throughout the area has given rise to much controversy over the level of consultation given to local First Nations' people. Of particular public interest has been

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

's plans for

coalbed methane Coalbed methane (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, coal seam gas (CSG), or coal-mine methane (CMM) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, Au ...

extraction on the Klappan Plateau, the Tahltan people's traditional hunting and trapping territory. Klappan has been named the

Sacred Headwaters The Sacred Headwaters is a large subalpine drainage basin centred around Klappan Mountain of the Klappan Range in northern British Columbia. It is the source of three wild salmon rivers: the Skeena River, Nass River, and Stikine River. It is also ...

because it forms the headwaters of several significant salmon rivers, including the Skeena, Spatsizi and

Stikine The Stikine River is a major river in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States. It drains a large, remote upland area known as the Stikine Country east of the Coast Mountains. Flowing west and south ...

rivers. The

Spatsizi Plateau The Spatsizi Plateau is a plateau in the upper basin of the Stikine River in north-central British Columbia, Canada. Most of the plateau, which is a sub-plateau of the Stikine Plateau, is enshrined in either Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial ...

region has occasionally called the "

Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves. The Serengeti ...

of the North" due to the diversity and number of different species that call the area home. The controversy over Sacred Headwaters is also further complicated by the different levels of

government. The

Tahltan Central Council The Tàłtàn Nation is a tribal council-type organization (but ''not'' a tribal council) combining the governments of two band governments of the Tahltan people in the Stikine Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The two ...

(TCC) speaks for the entire Tahltan First Nation but between the three significant communities, some people feel that TCC does not fairly represent the feelings of all communities equally. At the forefront of the battle over the Sacred Headwaters is a group of Iskut First Nation members called the "Klabona Keepers".

References