Iskut is a small, mostly aboriginal

Aboriginal peoples in Canada

Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....

 community in the Stikine Country

Stikine Country

The Stikine Country, also referred to as the Stikine District or simply "the Stikine" , is one of the historical geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located inland from the central Alaska Panhandle and comprising the basin of the Stikine River and its tributaries...

 of northwestern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. It is located on Highway 37, at the north end of Eddontenajon Lake just south of Dease Lake

Dease Lake, British Columbia

Dease Lake is a small community located in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located only a few hours south of the Yukon border, it is located on Highway 37 at the south end of the lake of the same name. Dease Lake is the last major centre before the Alaska...

 and the crossing of the Stikine River

Stikine River

The Stikine River is a river, historically also the Stickeen River, approximately 610 km long, in northwestern British Columbia in Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States...

. The community of Eddontenajon

Eddontenajon, British Columbia

Eddontenajon is an unincorporated settlement in the Stikine Country of the northwestern British Columbia Interior in Canada. It is located along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway on the northeast side of Eddontenajon Lake and comprises a small commercial centre as well as the community It should not be...

 used to be located nearby.

Community

Iskut is the home of the Iskut First Nation

Iskut First Nation

The Iskut First Nation is a band government of the Tahltan people. Their main reserve is Iskut IR No.6, located at Iskut, British Columbia; Kluachon Lake IR No.1 is in the same vicnity, while the band's third reserve, Stikine River IR No. 7 is located one mile west of, and on the opposite side of...

, a group of the Tahltan

Tahltan

Tahltan refers to a Northern Athabaskan people who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut.-Social Organization:...

 people, which also includes the communities of Dease Lake and Telegraph Creek. Two bands comprise the Tahltan Nation

Tahltan

Tahltan refers to a Northern Athabaskan people who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut.-Social Organization:...

, the Iskut First Nation and the Tahltan First Nation

Tahltan First Nation

The Tahltan First Nation, also known as the Tahltan Indian Band, is a band government of the Tahltan people. Their main community and reserves are located at Telegraph Creek, British Columbia. Their language is the Tahltan language, which is an Athabaskan language also known as Nahanni, is...

 or Tahltan Indian Band. Iskut Indian Reserve No. 6 and Kluachon Lake Indian Reserve No. 1 are the two formal Indian Reserves in the vicinity.

Klappan Independent Day School, the Iskut First Nation Band Office and the Iskut Valley Health Services building are the primary public service amenities. Shopping and gas can be purchased at Kluachon Center.

Location

Iskut is located at the 407 km mark on Highway 37 and is approximately 6–7 hours from both Terrace and Smithers and within 9 hours drive from Whitehorse, Y.T.

Recreation

Recreational activities in the area include fishing at any of the lakes of the Iskut Chain Lakes, which include, moving south to north, Nadatadasleen Lake, Kinaskan Lake, Tattoga Lake, Eddontenajon Lake and Kluachon Lake. Snowmobiling and ATVing are very popular activities for locals of the area.

Coal-bed methane conflict

Iskut is presently well-known for the protracted disagreement over the use of the area for resource extraction. The rapid expansion of mining throughout the area has given rise to much controversy over the level of consultation given to local First Nations' people. Of particular public interest has been Royal Dutch Shell

Royal Dutch Shell

Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...

's plans for coalbed methane

Coalbed methane

Coalbed methane or Coal Bed Methane, coalbed gas or coal mine methane is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, and other countries...

 extraction on the Klappan Plateau, the Tahltan people's traditional hunting and trapping territory. Klappan has been named the Sacred Headwaters

Sacred Headwaters

The Sacred Headwaters is the simon given to a subalpine basin in northern British Columbia that is the source of three wild salmon rivers: the Skeena River, Nass River and Stikine River. It is also referred to as the Klappan Valley, although the Klappan—a tributary of the Stikine River—is only one...

 because it forms the headwaters of several significant salmon rivers, including the Skeena

Skeena River

The Skeena River is the second longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada . The Skeena is an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan - whose names mean "inside the Skeena River" and "people of the Skeena River" respectively, and also during the...

, Spatsizi

Spatsizi River

The Spatsizi River is a tributary of the Stikine River, rising near Mount Gunanoot in the southeastern Spatsizi Plateau."Spatsizi" is a phrase from the Sekani language meaning "red goat", a reference to the habit of mountain goats in the region of rolling in the red dust of a particular mountain,...

 and Stikine River

Stikine River

The Stikine River is a river, historically also the Stickeen River, approximately 610 km long, in northwestern British Columbia in Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States...

s. The Spatsizi Plateau

Spatsizi Plateau

The Spatsizi Plateau is a plateau in the upper basin of the Stikine River in north-central British Columbia, Canada. Most of the plateau, which is a sub-plateau of the Stikine Plateau, is enshrined in either Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park or Spatsizi Headwaters Provincial Park...

 region has occasionally called the "Serengeti

Serengeti

The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa. It is located in north Tanzania and extends to south-western Kenya between latitudes 1 and 3 S and longitudes 34 and 36 E. It spans some ....

 of the North" due to the diversity and number of different species that call the area home. The controversy over the Sacred Headwaters

Sacred Headwaters

The Sacred Headwaters is the simon given to a subalpine basin in northern British Columbia that is the source of three wild salmon rivers: the Skeena River, Nass River and Stikine River. It is also referred to as the Klappan Valley, although the Klappan—a tributary of the Stikine River—is only one...

 is also further complicated by the different levels of Tahltan

Tahltan

Tahltan refers to a Northern Athabaskan people who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut.-Social Organization:...

 government. The Tahltan Central Council (TCC) speaks for the entire Tahltan First Nation but between the three significant communities, some people feel that TCC does not fairly represent the feelings of all communities equally. At the forefront of the battle over the Sacred Headwaters is a group of Iskut First Nation members called the Klabona Keepers.