Ktunaxa Nation welcomes water pollution study plan for Elk-Kootenai watershed

Leaders in the transboundary Ktunaxa nation are heralding the release of a final study plan to address water pollution in the transboundary Elk-Kootenai/y watershed.

The transboundary Ktunaxa Nation, which consists of members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the Ktunaxa First Nations of ʔakisq̓nuk, ʔaq̓ am, Yaqan Nuʔkiy, and Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it, were pleased to see the release of the study prior to the in-person listening sessions in Fernie, British Columbia, on June 3.

“This marks an important and very positive milestone in the commitment made by the United States and Canada to work in partnership with the governments of the Ktunaxa Nation to address water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai watershed, and importantly, to work together to restore the health of the watershed, which has been heavily impacted by legacy and ongoing mining in the Elk Valley,” said Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Vice Chairman Tom McDonald in a press release.

The study plan was developed by the Elk-Kootenai Watershed Study Board, an independent body, created by the International Joint Commission to study and make recommendations to address water pollution in the transboundary watershed. The study board is tasked with bringing together scientific experts and knowledge holders to share knowledge and data in a coordinated, objective and transparent process. 

The study plan outlines the scope of work that the Study Board will undertake over the next 12-18 months, culminating in a final report outlining the extent of the pollution in the watershed and providing recommendations to reduce and mitigate the impacts of the pollution.

“We welcome this long-awaited Plan of Study, and we support the Study Board’s efforts to produce the best-possible recommendations to reduce and mitigate the impacts of water pollution. Their study will inform decisions that will affect the future of all living things (ʔa·kxam̓ is q̓ api qaps) for many generations," Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Vice Chairman Gary Aitken Jr. said. "The scope of the Plan of Study reflects the importance of those decisions and the size of the challenges we all face to protect and care for the land and all things on it."  

For more than a decade, the six governments of the Ktunaxa Nation urged Canada and the United States to join them in asking the International Joint Commission to study the impacts of mining and the extent of pollution in the Elk-Kootenai watershed, including impacts to Ktunaxa homelands. 

The International Joint Commission was established by treaty between the United States and Canada in 1909 for the purpose of preventing and resolving disputes in shared waters. In March 2024, the U.S. and Canada took an historical and positive step forward in delivering a proposal to the IJC that was created in partnership with the six governments of the Ktunaxa Nation, asking the IJC to create the Study Board, and convene governments in the watersheds to work together to address water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai waters.

The work of the Study Board provides a framework and pathway to bring together science and knowledge to “support a common understanding of pollution within the Elk-Kootenai watershed, including the impacts of pollution to people and other species,” as per the Reference and the IJC Directive to the Study Board. 

“This is an important step in advancing the state of our collective knowledge and building trust amongst all of our governments, demonstrating that we can work together to reduce and mitigate the long-standing pollution in the Elk-Kootenai watershed," said Nasuʔkin Heidi Gravelle of Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it First Nation. "We are grateful that Canada and the U.S. have committed to implementing this IJC Reference, and ask the governments to follow through with that commitment and fully fund this well thought out Plan of Study. This process has the potential to be transformative, where all governments can work together to change the trajectory of the watershed. The health of this watershed is a collective responsibilty. The waters of the Elk and Kootenai are the heart of ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa (Ktunaxa Territory) and are vital to the Ktunaxa ʔakⱡsmaknik (people).”