Mining

Chad Norman Day, his family and his Tahltan Nation have a very deep history in the mining industry.

For several thousand years, Tahltan people were known to mine obsidian
from Mount Edziza. This precious resource was utilized to create many
tools and weapons which gave the people various advantages over other
tribes. These implements and other goods were traded with neighboring
tribes, and some obsidian arrowheads from Mount Edziza were found as
far south as modern-day Florida, meaning they were likely traded several
times through various Indigenous peoples.

The Tahltan people were always a matrilineal, warlike and nomadic people.
A child once asked a Tahltan Elder, “Why don’t we have totem poles like others?”, and the Elder responded, “Our people were busy traveling our lands and shedding blood in war to protect our large territory. We did not have time to be carving totem poles.”

The Tahltan people first came into contact with Caucasian people in the
early 1800s and eventually gold was found along the Stikine River in 1861.
The Gold Rush to the Yukon and Alaska resulted in Telegraph Creek being
utilized as a trading post along the way, sometimes with thousands of
people set up along the Stikine River from Telegraph Creek to Glenora and
the surrounding areas. During this time some Tahltan people began having
children with European and some Chinese folks. Unfortunately, contact with
non-indigenous groups left the Tahltans vulnerable to diseases and their
populations plummeted from several thousand people to about 300 at the
beginning of the 1900s.

Chad’s father, Norman Day, was born in Telegraph Creek in 1950.
Norman’s mother was Doreen Dennis (nee Day), and her parents were
Louise Edzerza (nee Dennis) and Hyland Dennis. Norman’s biological
Father was Frank Callbreath, whose parents were Roy and Eva Callbreath.

Norman and his siblings eventually moved to Cassiar in the late 1950s
where his stepfather, Fletcher Day, was a heavy duty equipment operator
for the Cassiar Asbestos Mine. Norman eventually had to relocate to finish
high school and pursue trade school, but he returned as an Electrical
Apprentice at the Cassiar mine where he met his future spouse, Janice, in
1973.

Thereafter, the young couple began a family, Chad being the youngest of
three children, and Norman worked at various mine sites in Northern British
Columbia over the years including the Cassiar Asbestos Mine, the Endako Mine
and the Erickson Gold Mine.

When Chad’s parents separated in 1995 the family permanently moved
back to Telegraph Creek for a couple of years, followed by Chad and his
Mother moving to Smithers, BC. Janice returned to working in the mining
industry at Huckleberry Mine while Norman continued working
throughout his Tahltan homeland at the local community and various
industrial projects, primarily those in the mining industry. Chad lived in
Telegraph Creek during the summer months and other holidays.

Few individuals, if any, have worked on more infrastructure projects, mining
projects and mineral exploration sites in Tahltan Territory than Norman Day.
He began his electrical contracting company, Norad Electric Ltd., in 1987
and since that time has worked exclusively in Tahltan Territory. He
mentored and assisted several future Tahltan electricians and has always
been an avid advocate for Tahltan tradespeople and entrepreneurs.

Chad landed his first job in the mining industry as a sixteen-year-old
summer student as a Core Cutter working for BC Metals at the exploration
project which later became the Red Chris Mine. His mother was the acting
Camp Manager at this particular mineral exploration site and she managed
similar sites for other companies in future years.

In latter years as a high school and university student Chad worked every
summer in the mining industry in different roles including First Aid Attendant,
Driller’s Helper, Environmental Technician and Electrical Assistant at
several different mineral exploration sites throughout Tahltan Territory. In
the evenings after work he would commonly practice his Tahltan language
and began experimenting with Tahltan plants and teas in the surrounding
area. Once he became quite ill for two days because he added too much
juniper berry to one of his concoctions; he recovered and returned to work
without issue.

In 2012 during his time in law school, Chad was elected as a Tahltan Band
Councillor and began to learn more about mining from the governance side
of things. Upon graduating from law school in 2014, Chad was elected as
the President of the Tahltan Central Council (“TCC”) and began working for
the Tahltan Nation on a full-time basis as their primary Spokesperson,
Negotiator, Lead Administrator and Executive Leader. The TCG is
mandated to uphold and advocate for the Tahltan people’s collective title
and rights.

• Creating 13 TCG Departments and growing the staff from four individuals to over fifty, most of whom were Tahltan members. The Education/Training Department, Employment/Contracting Department and the Lands Department were primarily focused on working alongside the mining industry and implementing multiple Impact Benefit Agreements.
• Negotiating the Red Chris Impact Benefit Agreement and ratifying this agreement with 87% support from the Tahltan people (April 2015).
• Creating the TCG Communications & Engagement Agreement, which was updated multiple times and resulted in several million dollars of growth and new initiatives over the years (2017 – Present).
• Negotiating an Impact Benefit Agreement with Pretivm for the Brucejack Mine (June 2018).
• Negotiating the Seabridge Impact Benefit Agreement and ratifying this agreement with 78% support from the Tahltan people (June 2019).
• Negotiating an Impact Benefit Agreement with Couer Mining for the Silvertip Mine (January 2021).
• Establishing and overseeing seven annual TCG Newsletters, some of which resulted in awards, and others which were dedicated primarily to the mining industry.
• Establishing the TCG Job Fair, Mineral Exploration Training and several initiatives which brought 150+ Tahltan Youth to the Association of Mineral Exploration Roundup, the Natural Resources Forum, the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada, and other mining-related events in Canada, the United States and South America.
• Signing the first ever Section 7 Agreements under British Columbia’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act for the Eskay Creek Project (June 2022) and the Red Chris Mine (November 2023).
• Further empowering the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation, the 300+ Tahltan members employed in the mining industry, and 40+ Tahltan mining entrepreneurs.
• Providing a stable economic environment to ensure the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation could evolve, grow, succeed and win several awards for economic development in the mining industry (2014 – Present).

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