Group asking for Piikani chief to take firmer stance on coal mine

By Alexandra Noad - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on January 2, 2025.

A group of Piikani Nation members are against the proposition of Grassy Mountain Coal Mine reopening and are asking their chief to take a hard stance and be a voice for the people.
Concerns over the mine reopening began four years ago when Benga Mining Limited made a proposal to open the mine which would produce 4.5 million tonnes of processed coal per year, with an expected lifespan of 25 years.
To some Piikani members’ dismay, the chief and council at the time promoted the idea because of the revenue it would give the community.
These members felt that their voices weren’t being heard and in response created the Piikani Mountain Child Valley Society through traditional ceremony.
Chair Adam North Peigan says that while Grassy Mountain isn’t on the reserve, it is within the Piikani Nation’s ancestral territory and has a lot of cultural significance for the people.
“That area was a place we used to gather,” says North Peigan. “We used to have community ceremonies there, we hunted, we gathered, we picked our medicines there and it was all part of our ancestral territory.”
North Peigan adds Grassy Mountain was never the same after coal exploration.
The society worked with community members as well as partnering with organizations that shared similar concerns of the project to create a lobbying strategy. After many letters to both the provincial and federal governments, and rallies to protest the coal mine, the Piikani society celebrated its efforts as the Joint Review Panel put out a statement saying it wasn’t in the best interest of Albertans to have an open pit coal mine at Grassy Mountain. That was followed by a statement from Jonathan Wilkinson, then federal Minister of Natural Resources, saying Canada would not support open pit coal mining at Grassy Mountain.
After the proposal from Benga Mining, the society didn’t have a reason to meet for about a year, as members thought their fight was over. Then word got out that another company was going to continue to pursue mining at Grassy Mountain.
As it turns out, the new company, Northback Holdings, was owned by the same people who owned Benga Mining. The company is part of Hancock Prospecting, an Australian corporation.
North Peigan says members of the society believe it is their responsibility to be stewards of the land and protect mother earth. He adds some of their concerns include selenium leaking into headwaters and contaminating the waters which travel to Piikani land and then on to surrounding areas. There is also concern about the effects the mine will have on agriculture with not only the contamination of water but also the coal dust which would contaminate land that is essential for livestock.
North Peigan believes the effects of the contamination will last for generations.
“The effects of open pit coal mining at Grassy Mountain are going to affect our lineage for many generations to come,” he says.
He is also concerned that, while the Australian company will be able to reap the benefits, his and others prosperity will have to suffer the consequences.
“My grandchildren and great-grandchildren are going to have to live with that desecration when they look out west towards the Crowsnest Pass and the Rocky Mountains, and we don’t want them to have to.”
North Peigan says Northback has funnelled resources through Piikani Resource Development LTD, Piikani Security and Piikani Employment and Training.He is concerned about what he sees as the lack of communication from the Piikani chief and council about the situation.
“They have pumped in resources to some of our entities within the community, so my question is that can’t really happen without an impact benefit agreement (IBA), right?”
North Peigan says the society asked chief and council about the IBA but were denied answers due to confidentiality issues. He believes members of the nation should be entitled to know of any decisions made in regard to their land.
Chief Troy Knowlton recently said he is in favour of testing the mine but will take the results into consideration before signing a deal allowing the mine to go through.
Knowlton says he is also worried the province’s new Coal Policy will push through the mine project regardless of whether the tribe agrees with it.
North Peigan says he is disappointed in the statement because he believes as chief, Knowlton should be willing to fight for his people.
“It’s almost like (Knowlton) has given up,” he says.
North Peigan says members of the Piikani Nation deserve transparency from everyone involved in the decision-making process since the effects of those decisions could have major consequences.
“We’re tired of being left in the dark.”
North Peigan says the proposed coal development goes against the principles of truth and reconciliation that are often spoken about by politicians.
“If Northback is allowed to go down the road of open pit coal mining on Grassy Mountain…it’s an act of genocide,” he says “It’ll also be the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada (who are) guilty of that continuation of the genocide of our people.”
While the Piikani Mountain Child Valley Society has a long road ahead of it, members know they have succeeded before and are willing to give it their all to succeed again.
“I don’t see why we can’t do it again,” says North Peigan, “with the same determination and the same fight and the same passion in protecting our ancestral territory.”

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