When the Nisga’a gained sovereignty in 2000 as a result of their hard fought battle for the Nisga’a Final Agreement, they set the benchmark for Canada’s First Nations. Throughout the 2000’s the Nisga’a served as inspiration to other Nations in how they regained their right to self-governance. Nestled in the Nass Valley, the Nisga’a hold their own Provincial Park, meeting or exceeding provincial standards for this standing. As taken from one of my previous blog posts, Canada’s Parks are undergoing substantial influence from business to reconfigure park boundaries for the accommodation of resource exploration and extraction. The Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park is now not an exception to this. On November 10th TransCanada and Nisga’a Lisims Government signed the deal that will put the proposed pipeline from Northeastern British Columbia, through Nisga’a Territory, to the export point near Prince Rupert. Along with this deal, the Nisga’a gain future payments based on the success of the pipeline, as well as a potential partnership in natural gas distribution by TransCanada within the Nass Valley. While this may prove to be beneficial to the Nation, many members feel excluded from the agreement. The proposed pipeline will travel through the Sacred Burial site of their ancestors killed by the eruption of the Tseax Cone.

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