Canadian Press reported on Monday, May 16, 2005, in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau vowed to fight a $100-million zinc mine that he claims will poison the Nahanni River, a UN World Heritage. “Trudeau said the zinc from the mine is so high in mercury it is almost unusable in Canada, and would probably be exported to countries with less stringent environmental standards. Canadian Zinc Corp. of Vancouver is proposing a 1,000-tonne per day zinc mine and mill, with a 200-man camp and a $40-million all-weather road through the watershed.”

The South Nahanni is one of the world’s greatest wild rivers, flowing 540 km southwest through the Mackenzie Mountains in the Northwest Territories. It provides the focus for Nahanni National Park Reserve and offers an outstanding wilderness experience by canoe, kayak, raft or those on foot who wish to travel its shores.

“Canadian Zinc says on its website it has reached a co-operation agreement with the Dehcho, who would be provided with employment and contracting opportunities. But Herb Norwegian, grand chief of the Dehcho, says his people don’t want the mine. “The Nahanni is a spiritual river,” says Norwegian. “What we want to do is get the entire watershed protected. We want the mines out of the area and we don’t want any industrial roads leading to the watershed.”

Nahanni means “spirit” in Dehcho, the First Nations language of the local Dene people. Dehcho belongs to the great Athapaskan group of northern languages. They are Dene people, people of the river. Their traditional home is along the Mackenzie River.

Deh Cho is the Mackenzie River. The words means “big river,” literally “flowing much.” You can see their homeland on the map.

The Dene, of which the Dehcho are part, are the aboriginal people of an area in Canada which stretches from Hudson Bay through the Northwest and Yukon Territories to the interior of Alaska and from central Alberta to the Arctic Ocean. This includes the northernmost parts of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

The word Dene contains the same Athapaskan root word de found in Deh Cho. De signifies “flow” and ne means “our female (that is, mother earth).” Thus the Dene are people who flowed forth from Mother Earth.

Let's make sure that mercury-laden zinc does not poison these people of Canada. Make that clear to the federal and provincial governments concerned.

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