Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services

Coppermine (Mar 04/02) - The Coppermine is a candidate to become a Canadian heritage river.

Representatives from the hamlet of Kugluktuk and the territorial government submitted a proposal to protect the 450-kilometre Nunavut portion of the river to the Canadian Heritage River Board for consideration during a meeting held Feb. 7 to 9 in Montebello, Que.

"With this nomination, Kugluktuk people will begin to have a real say in what is happening with the Coppermine River," said Peter Taptuna, manager of the Hunters and Trappers organization in Kugluktuk.

If accepted, the Coppermine will be the first heritage river in the Kitikmeot and the fourth one in Nunavut --the Kazan, Thelon and Souper are all heritage rivers.

The Canadian Heritage River Board was established in 1984 by federal, territorial and provincial governments as a way to protect the country's most beautiful and historic rivers.

If nominated, the Coppermine will be protected under a management plan to be drawn up by local and territorial governments.

"It has been discussed for years," said Stanley Anablak, the mayor of Kugluktuk. "It is finally going to go through and we are happy with that."

Anablak said the recent diamond-staking rush makes the possible selection of the river that much more important.

"With all the activity happening upstream and all those diamonds popping up, there may be big mining camps," said Anablak. "We want to protect our river."

Anablak said he has travelled the river almost every year since 1967. He canoes, fishes and takes his family out for picnics beside the river.

"It means a lot, Inuit in the Kitikmeot have used it for thousands of years," said Anablak.

Protecting the river is also important for economic reasons.

Anablak said the river brings tourists paddling down the river every summer to the community. "Without tourism, our community would be hurting," he said.

Kugluktuk sits just west of the river's mouth on the shores of Coronation Gulf, where the river ends.

The Coppermine flows up from the barrens at Lac de Gras, winding down into the treeline near Redrock Lake and crossing into Nunavut, where it leaves the trees and plunges toward Coronation Gulf.

The river's history is tied to Samuel Hearne as his chosen route to the Arctic Ocean in 1771 and the infamous Bloody Falls massacre, where Hearne's Chipewyan guides attacked and slaughtered an Inuit fishing party.

The river is known for its challenging rapids and abundance of wildlife.

The river is also tied to North Slave Dene history.