Leadership of transboundary Ktunaxa Nation governments — the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, and the Ktunaxa First Nations of ʔakisq̓nuk, ʔaq̓am, Yaqan Nuʔkiy, and Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it — welcome the release of a study plan to address water pollution in the Elk-Kootenay watershed.
“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-Kootenay 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 Tom McDonald, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Vice Chairman.
The Study Plan was developed by the Elk-Kootenai/y 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, which was formalized last fall, is tasked with bringing together scientific experts and knowledge holders to share information 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 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," said Gary Aitken Jr., Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Vice Chairman.
"Their study will inform decisions that will affect the future of ʔa·kxam̓is q̓api qapsin (All Living Things) for many generations. 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 over 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-Kootenay 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 straddling the international border.
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-Kootenay 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-Kootenay 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-Kootenay watershed, said Nasuʔkin (Chief) 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 responsibility. The waters of the Elk and Kootenay are the heart of ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa (Ktunaxa Territory) and are vital to the Ktunaxa ʔakⱡsmaknik (people)."
The work being done by the IJC is a separate matter unconnected to the renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty, as talks between Canada and the United States to modernize that water-sharing and management agreement are currently on hold.
