The Immovable Object: Mitigation as Indigenous Conservation

On the North Coast of British Columbia, First Nations face dozens of major industrial development proposals, including both crude oil and liquid natural gas pipelines and associated tanker traffic. In response to this overwhelming industrial expansion, First Nations have expanded their environmental stewardship programs to meaningfully engage in regulatory review, impacts research, and environmental monitoring. The Gitxaała First Nation provides an interesting case study of transforming such processes through integration of Gitxaała values into environmental assessment methodology and the application of Aboriginal rights and title. Protecting their territories against colonial intrusions and environmental change requires Gitxaała and their neighboring Nations to use Indigenous knowledge and collaborative governance institutions to limit and mitigate the impacts of these projects. For Indigenous societies under such extreme pressure, conservation is not only the achievement of higher or newer forms of protection, but simply maintaining the environmental status quo against encroaching industrial development. As other departments and programs engage in the selection of marine protected areas or developing conservancy management plans—recognizable conservation initiatives—in the face of rapid industrial development, the real frontline of Indigenous conservation can be considered engagement in regulatory review, the negotiation of impact benefit agreements, and long-term and cumulative effects monitoring. It is on the environmental assessment battleground that the unstoppable force of industrial development meets the immovable object of First Nations sovereignty and territorial protection, and where invisible but critical conservation wins are achieved.