Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Firstly, in my five decades of involvement with the Cheslatta Carrier Nation, I have been involved in and witness to the many issues and processes regarding the Nechako River, the Kemano I and II projects, and the 1987 and 1997 settlement agreements. I have represented Cheslatta in the British Columbia Utilities Commission hearings, the Nechako Watershed Council and the Nechako River Roundtable and I am also a director of the Nechako Kitamaat Development Fund (NKDF).
