Sacred-Sites International Blog

Yakutat Bumpersticker: "I don't care what the Mining Law of 1872 says, the Yakutat Forelands are not For Sale"

The U. S. Forest Department and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have taken over management of ancestral Alaskan Native Yakutat Tlingit sacred grounds known as the Yakutat Forelands, a complex landscape comprised on wetlands, old-growth rain forests, ancient sand dunes and glacier moraines covering 50 miles south of Yakutat to Dry Bay and Glacier Bay National Park.

The Yakutat Forelands contain ancestral village sites, burials grounds and traditional hunting and fishing sites. The Yakutat can no longer bring their deceased to traditional burial grounds on U.S. Forest Department – BLM land and they are deprived of hunting and fishing in traditional places.

The U.S. Forest Department and the BLM manage the land with a mixed use policy meaning permits can be granted for mineral extraction. Furthermore, the Mining Law of 1872 gives the U.S. government bureaus top priority to mine the Forelands without the consent of the Yakutat Tlinglit Tribe.

In 2008 and 2009, a mining company examined 92 square miles of the Forelands for mineral exploration and core-sampling. Mining would have an extremely detrimental effect of cultural and sacred sites and on the salmon habitat which provides a primary food source for the Yakutat.

The mine was widely protested and, in 2010, the mineral claims were forfeited by the BLM due to lack of payment of mining fees owed by the mining company. This has created an opportunity for the Yakutat to pursue ways to protect their ancestral grounds.

What can you do::
Stay informed about the Yakutat Forelands cultural sites by contacting Judy Ramos with the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe at: jramos@ytttribe.org or by phone: (907) 784-3238.

Visit the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council website or contact Guy Archibald with the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council at: guy@seacc.org or by phone: (907) 586-6942.