This is the story of the community of Tsey Keh Dene, a First Nation community in the North Central part of BC as told by ten residents – Ruby, Joanne, Seymour, Sam, Faith, Janine, Cherole, Elizabeth, Sarah and Yvonne.

Where are we located?

Tsay Keh Dene, meaning ‘People of the Mountains”, is a Sekani nation located in the northern interior region of British Columbia. The community is approximately 530 kilometers north of Prince George and 350 kilometers north of Mackenzie, where the nearest grocery store is located. The community is located along the banks of Williston Lake, which now has the Williston Reservoir, the largest reservoir in British Columbia. The community is surrounded by wilderness, offering beauty and wildlife and river valleys and vast mountain ranges create breathtaking landscape and scenery

Past and present industrial disruption

Tsay Keh Dene has experienced disruptions to their ancestral lands and community due to industrial activities. In 1968, the Province of BC constructed the Williston Reservoir by flooding numerous rivers in the area and built the W.A.C. Bennett Dam. This resulted in significant changes to the local landscape, affecting harvesting grounds and wildlife habitats. The development of the reservoir displaced the people of the territory from their traditional lands and forced them to a settlement further north.

This displacement led to substantial, devastating, and ongoing impacts on the community lifestyle, food systems and culture. Jean explained that the government and hydro industry imposed western lifestyles and values into their community. Most notably, the displacement meant the disruption of access to their local source of traditional foods, resulting in a dependency on market foods. Ruby shared insight:

“Williston Reservoir caused so much devastation to the Tsay Keh Dene people; not only did that displace them, but it also caused limited access to traditional harvesting areas on their territory and created longer distances to travel to the neighboring towns for supplies.”

Joann also spoke to this:

“Gone are the days where a hunter can walk for a few miles and get a moose due to industry… Growing up as a child, I lived mostly on traditional foods, as [my] family hunted wild game such as grouse and ducks; they would also fish”.

Industry in the area continues to disrupt the land and community members today. The region is used by the logging industry. Joann mentioned that logging has a big impact on natural habitats of moose, caribou and elk. Ruby shared:

“Most times, due to logging activity on territory, in and around ungulates (moose) habitat causes the decline in some areas. The mess of debris on the land, or the road and trails are not safe to use. [This] limits access to their traditional harvest areas.”

Industry affects the quality of wildlife, particularly of seafood. Community members must now travel to other locations for safe, quality fish because the mercury content of fish from the reservoir is too high. Moreover, moose found close to community have been noted to be less healthy than they used to be. Some conversations with members highlighted that wild game may be infected and unfit for harvest.

These industrial activities have not only disrupted their traditional ways of life, but have also displayed a lack of respect to their community members, their customs, and their values. A recent example of this was when the community felt confusion and frustration over an industrial camp that was set up in an area previously used by children to go sledding. This episode highlights the disruption of the community’s ways of life, in addition to food access, and speaks to the disrespect of these uninvited guests.

Elizabeth expressed a call for change for solving many of these major issues:

“I think that industries need to stop. We need the land to rest and rejuvenate from the impacts of industry. The impact from industry causes the decline of big game such as moose and elk, and other wildlife, such as grouse.”

Issues with accessing food from the land and waters extends beyond the presence of the reservoir and the logging industry. The surplus of non-local hunters on Tsay Keh Dene territory adds another layer of complexity by increasing activity and competition with local hunters and subsequently diminishing the availability of wild game, a valuable resource for the community.

A community rich in history and tradition

Tsay Keh Dene’s rich culture demonstrates an amazing commitment to address issues surrounding both climate change and colonial disruption as it relates to their food systems. It is a community guided by a set of fundamental values that include family, culture, work ethic, integrity, teamwork, transparency and communication.

Elder Jean Isaac shared her story of her youth when traditional food systems were deeply engrained in their way of living. Then, Elder Jean Isaac and her peers followed the elk herd, with populations in the hundreds, and harvested a plethora of plants and foods from the land. The Ingenika River served as a vital part to the traditional food system.

She emphasized the high importance of Elk to their people and the entire community stating:

“Elk are equivalent to what salmon is to the coastal nations.”

Her life was drastically changed once she was taken to Lejac residential school. This forced displacement had grave implications on relationships with the food systems and the knowledge surrounding it for much of their community.

Elder Jean said:

“Today our lives have been changed drastically and living off of the land seems to be forgotten. But some of us have cabins we go to out of the village and continue to hunt, fish and gather food.”

The community store

There is one community grocery store in the region called the Ingenika Trading Post store (I.T.P), which is owned by the Tsay Keh Dene Nation. The store offers a variety of non-perishable foods, some meat, pre-made foods and other supplies.

However the foods are costly and lack quality and variety. The community store has limited produce, and the produce that is available tends to be near its end of shelf-life. Several community members shared:

“Fruits and vegetables are not fresh; they are almost rotten by the time we get them to the store and eggs sometimes broken mostly in the cartons.”

“If you relied on I.T.P for fruits and vegetables it is disappointing.”

Meat is often expensive and poor quality. A steak the size of someone’s palm can be priced as high as $50.00 and may not be edible.

“I had bought a package of short rib, I tried to cook it but it was rotten.”

The lack of healthy food at the store makes it challenging to cook nutritious foods, particularly for vulnerable groups like those with chronic disease, people experiencing mental health recovery, and Elders at the Elders Centre. Cherole, Samantha and Faith shared their experience:

“We have a huge aisle in the store for chips, pop, and we have a quarter aisle for produce. Some people have the chance to get produce, while the rest go without. When members are struggling with trying to live a sober life or healthier lifestyle, they need healthy foods. Fresh produce to get through becoming sober.”

“Diabetes is an issue in community. I have worked with the meals on wheels program for elders, and there are not enough healthy foods.”

High food costs place a significant burden on the wallets of Tsay Keh Dene whether from transporting foods into the community, or the cost of travel to a neighbouring town for food. One plastic grocery bag full of items purchased at I.T.P can cost $250.00. Meanwhile, community members shared that travelling to Prince George for groceries costs nearly $2000 ($800 groceries, $300 fuel, $250 one-night accommodation and $500 in vehicle wear and tear). Overall, community members are left navigating high costs of foods, coupled with dissatisfactory quality and variety.

Extreme travel conditions

Tsay Keh Dene is a truly remote community, with a driving time of approximately eight hours to Prince George and six hours to Mackenzie, the nearest rural community with services. Flying in to the community is often preferable to visitors than driving because of the area’s extreme remoteness and the treacherous driving conditions as the main road is predominantly unpaved. Given the limited access routes into the community, the store’s inventory is heavily reliant on the shared logging road. The I.T.P store is at the mercy of road conditions with delivery trucks frequently breaking down or getting stuck. As described by Elizabeth:

“Spring and fall, the main road becomes very muddy, so the big trucks are not able to make it to community.”

Community members are attuned to the times when the trucks would deliver goods to the store, and try to get there early to access the best items.

“There is a transport truck that delivers groceries every week, so if you want a chance to buy new items… you have to go early the morning after the truck delivers.”

If the road conditions are poor, however, this is disrupted.

Some folks choose to embark on journeys to Mackenzie or Prince George to shop. This too presents challenges, as folks must share the road with large industry vehicles. Limited visibility is a common challenge, often due to dust during summer and fall, or white-out conditions during the winter. Elizabeth shared:

“All seasons it is very challenging to travel on the hazardous logging road. The wind, snow, the severe weather snowstorms, lightening – affects the road conditions… These all have an impact on our community members accessing sustenance.”

Sometimes community members hire someone with a suitable vehicle to drive them. Vehicle size and storage space are important considerations, because this affects the quantity of food that can be obtained. Although Tsay Keh Dene owns a plane, it’s small and cost of travel makes it impractical for travel or food delivery. Moreover, some community members are unable to travel by plane due to trauma related issues, further limiting travel:

“Some members cannot travel by plane because of trauma issues.”

Several community members highlighted that they sometimes make trips to the city for medical treatments and the cost of these trips are covered by the BC First Nations Health Benefits program. They capitalize on these opportunities to purchase quality food, as for some, this represents the sole opportunity to purchase groceries from town without the financial burden of travel.

Climate change

A changing climate is a major worry for many members of the Tsay Keh Dene community. Joann explained that she has observed substantial changes to the availability and quality of local berries and medicinal plants throughout her lifetime.

“Last summer was hot… much of the berries dried up due to extreme heat.” In contrast, she added, “In 2021 there was so much rain that the road was washing out in different parts, so it was unusable.”

These changes impact wild animals too. As the local plants are limited, wild animals are unable to obtain their nutrition and may move away from the region, making hunting more challenging. Fish populations have decreased over time due to changes in the climate.

“Climate change is affecting the swamps in our harvest areas, where Moose habitats are…creeks are too low also not able to catch fish in traditional fishing areas, I have never seen the creeks/rivers as low as they are.”

Hopes for the future

Tsay Keh Dene has quite a unique and recent history of colonial disruption. Despite the many challenges the community has faced and is facing, they have clear visions to address many of their concerns surrounding food costs and food access. Community members shared the following ideas and recommendations:

• A butchering place for traditional game (e.g. an abattoir service).
  
• An additional grocery truck to haul vegetables and meat.
  
• Programs for teaching about Indigenous (traditional) foods, local agriculture, caring for animals (such as chickens, pigs, milking cows) and other programs for sustainable foods systems.
  
• A greenhouse for growing produce to help the community and neighbouring community.