Within the traditional boundaries of Piikani Nation sits the Grassy Mountain coal mining project, a previously mined site that Northback Holdings has applied to the Alberta government for exploration and water diversion licenses.
While many believe the project will provide a critical economic injection into the area, others have environmental concerns over its potential impacts, including Wilfred Yellow Wings, a Piikani Nation Elder.
“As a spokesperson for our Elders, it’s always been said,” said Yellow Wings. “Anything that will disturb what little portion of land [we have], we don’t want it.”
A statement from Northback Holdings says it has ongoing consultation with the Piikani Nation and its members, but Adam North Peigan, chair of the Mountain Child Valley Society, says this isn’t the case.
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“The message is coming loud and clear from our members that we don’t want this to happen,” said North Peigan. “We have a responsibility to the land to protect our ancestral territory.”
The Grassy Mountain steelmaking coal project near Crowsnest Pass has been before regulators for years and was denied permits by both the Alberta and federal governments in 2021 after a lengthy environmental assessment.
A letter to the Alberta Energy Regulator from energy minister Brian Jean Northbacks’ proposal should be exempt from the province’s ban on coal mining in the Rockies.
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