The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are honored to host the fifth Indigenous-Led Transboundary Mining Conference. We will gather on September 14-17, 2026 at Edgewater Missoula in Missoula, Montana. This gathering will bring together Indigenous leaders from across what is also known today as Montana, Idaho, Washington, Alaska and British Columbia, as well as government officials and community partners. We will share information, spend time together on our lands and waters, and explore solutions for transboundary governance regarding the impacts of mines on the lands, waters and communities of our collective transboundary rivers. We must develop a road map to heal and protect all our waters. 

As Indigenous leaders, we understand these are not just environmental issues. They are issues of sovereignty, cultural survival, and our right to protect the places that have sustained our people for countless generations.  Our waters are the lifeblood of our peoples—from Montana to Idaho, Washington, Alaska and British Columbia—we all share concerns with Indigenous peoples who reside along these same rivers, and collectively, we are stronger together. 

The first Indigenous-led Transboundary Mining Conference was hosted by UCUT in Wenatchee, WA in 2022. The second conference was hosted by Lower Similkameen Indian Band in Osoyoos, BC in 2023. The third conference was hosted by the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida in Dzántik’i Héeni (Juneau, Alaska) in 2024. And the fourth conference was hosted by Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it First Nation in Qukin ʔamakʔis in Fernie, BC. This is the fifth annual gathering of Indigenous leaders, government officials, and regional partners to share knowledge about mining activities in the US-BC transboundary region that are jeopardizing our waters and our communities for generations to come. 

These gatherings have provided a diverse and informative set of presentations and panels, highlighting the array of mining projects that currently impact our waterways as well as proposed mining projects that bring additional threats to our way of life.