Tahltan

The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia, Canada, around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the Nahane (People of the West).

The Tahltan cultural practices and lifeways varied widely as they were often widely separated and would have to endure varying conditions depending on their locality. In Tahltan culture it was believed that some of their ancestors had knowledge that others did not from times before a great flood. Some of these ancestors used that knowledge for the good of the people, while others used it for evil and to the disadvantage of others. Raven is considered to be the protagonist hero against these evil ancestors.

Ten thousand years ago, the Tahltan people used obsidian from Mount Edziza to make tools and weapons for trading material. This is the main source of obsidian found in northwestern British Columbia.

Coal-bed methane extraction had already been the subject of protests in the Bulkley Valley against a project planned near Telkwa, British Columbia. In a unanimous 2003 resolution, the Union of B.C. Municipalities asked for a moratorium on coal-bed methane mining in the province. The Sacred Headwaters (Klappan Valley) is home to the headwaters of the Nass, Skeena and Stikine Rivers. Not only do these rivers provide a home to important salmon stocks, Tahltan oral history holds that these headwaters are the place where the earth was first created and where Talhtan culture began. According to the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, Shell has launched a lawsuit against Talhtan elders for loss of revenue.