The Carcross/Tagish First Nation (C/TFN) no longer supports any future mines within the headwaters of the Yukon River in its traditional territory.

The First Nation said Wednesday afternoon it fully supports the demands of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation (NNDFN) and White River First Nation (WRFN) in requesting an independent investigation of the “catastrophic failures” at Victoria Gold Corp.’s Eagle Gold Mine. It was referring to the June 24 heap leach pad landslide.

“This environmental disaster clearly demonstrates the dire need to pre-implement effective land and water planning before any major development is permitted to proceed in any Yukon First Nation’s traditional territory,” the C/TFN said in a statement.

“An independent investigation would determine the cause of Victoria Gold’s current failures to prevent similar environmental catastrophes and provide concrete and effective solutions for such mishaps now and in the future.”

The C/TFN said it has experienced, and continues to experience, “the mining community’s inability to prevent cumulative adverse environmental impacts in our traditional territory and hence we extend our support for the demands of NNDFN and WRFN’s stated positions on these matters.”

C/TFN Haa Sha Du Hen Maria Benoit said her First Nation’s citizens “have clearly stated that we, as stewards of our land and waters, at the headwaters of the Yukon River, cannot and will not support any future mining projects within our traditional territory.”

“Any negative environmental downstream impacts from mining within our traditional territory will adversely affect all Yukoners and Yukon First Nations, fish and wildlife

and their habitats and especially the Yukon River salmon, on which Yukon First Nations have depended since time immemorial,” Benoit said.

“Victoria Gold clearly did not utilize and adopt effective measures to prevent this disaster, and consequently Yukoners are again left with the economic and social costs of cleaning up this mining catastrophe.

“Such a scenario cannot continue to be the norm for mining companies that have operated or continue to operate in the Yukon.”

C/TFN citizens have stated that “these all too commonplace environmental and financial burdens from mines are too much for the current and future generations of Yukoners to assume the costly, onerous and generational burden for cleaning up after such mining

Disasters,” Benoit added.

“That is why C/TFN is supporting the call for an independent inquiry and no longer supporting

any future mines within the sacred headwaters of the Yukon River within our traditional territory.”

The First Nation said it does not plan to comment further on its statement.

Meanwhile, the latest Yukon government technical briefing on the environmental fallout from the landslide, previously scheduled for this morning, has been pushed back to 10:30 a.m. Friday.