Chief Wah Tah K’eght (Henry Alfred) from Witset has been reported to have passed away on Sunday morning.
Wah Tah K’eght was in a Prince George hospital, but came back to Witset despite poor health to host a feast welcoming the Walk to Witset, an event to celebrate the release of the book Shared Histories. The book documents the relationships between settlers and the Wet’suwet’en in the town of Smithers between 1913 and 1973.
Read: Walk to symbolize unity among area’s peoples
Chief Wah Tah K’eght also recently spoke at a feast in December of 2017 commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Delgamuuk Supreme Court case that included Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan elders. The case was literally a defining moment for Aboriginal title to ancestral lands, affirming oral history and clarifying the governments’ duty to consult.
Occording to a biogrophy from the Office of the Wet’suwet’en (OW), the Laksilyu clan Tsee K’al K’e yex house chief liked fishing and camping on his traditional territory. He took his chief name in 1967.
“We need to clean-up our environment and ecosystem by ending the use of herbicides and pesticides. It is my vision to see friendship amongst the Wet’suwet’en renewed,” Chief Wah Tah K’eght was quoted as saying on the OW’s website.
