"Tribal chiefs and elders from northern British Columbia convene in a historic hunting area at the headwaters of several major river systems in Iskut, B.C., last weekend. Marie Louie of the Iskut Band, third from left, leads a ceremony that symbolized their determination to keep the land "wild, beautiful and sacred forever."

If Shell Canada represents the global economy, an elderly Tahltan tribal elder named Loveman Nole stands for the subsistence economy.

"We make our living here by hunting moose, caribou and sheep on the mountain," Nole said. "We have a culture camp for the young. They, the companies, just come into our land and use it.

"There's nothing, there's never been jobs around here. We hunt. We trap a little. We fish a little in the winter. All my life here, I have never gone a day without a meal."

Has anyone ever tried to eat a gas well?"

Get the Story:
Joel Connelly: B.C. natives seek to protect land, pristine rivers (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 8/9)