Eskay Creek Revitalization Project IBA — Roodenburg Design Consultants

Increasing Voter Turnout and Informed Decision-Making

The Eskay Creek Revitalization Project IBA

The Eskay Creek Impact and Benefit Agreement marked a significant moment for the Tahltan Nation. The Tahltan Central Government, Tahltan Band, and Iskut Band had negotiated an agreement securing an estimated $210 million in royalties, $81 million in shares, and commitments around employment, community support, and environmental stewardship. But negotiating the deal was just one piece.

The agreement would be put to a vote for all Tahltan members to decide on. The Tahltan Central Government, Tahltan Band, Iskut Band, and Skeena Gold and Silver approached Engage Communications and Roodenburg to increase voter turnout and to help ensure community members felt informed and heard. The We Hear You campaign was designed to create those conditions.

“TCG’s decision to consent to the Eskay Creek Project reflects a historic, precedent-setting process that affirms Tahltan Nation’s authority over development in our Territory...

— Kerry Carlick, Tahltan President

The Challenge

The Eskay Creek Impact and Benefit Agreement was the result of three years of community-driven negotiation shaped by direct engagement with Tahltan members. Alongside financial benefits and direct payments to eligible members, Tahltan leadership secured independent environmental testing rights, giving the Nation the ability to assess impacts on the land and wildlife independently rather than relying solely on outside assurances.

For a community whose relationship with resource development has historically been defined by exclusion, the agreement represented something fundamentally different.

But the path to ratification was not straightforward. Tahltan members carried a historically justified skepticism toward resource development, shaped by generations of extraction without meaningful consent or shared benefit. That history became the lens through which the agreement was evaluated.

By the time the We Hear You campaign launched, organized opposition had gained momentum and trust in the process was fragile. Members were being asked to make a significant decision without clear, specific information. Creating the conditions for an informed vote, under a compressed timeline and in a high-stakes environment, became the central challenge.

The Approach

The We Hear You campaign was built on a straightforward premise: before asking people to make a consequential decision, you have to give them what they need to make it well.

The first priority was specificity. Working closely with the Tahltan negotiation and leadership teams, Engage and RDC translated the substance of the IBA into plain-language materials community members could actually use. How funds would flow, what environmental protections were in place, what trade-offs had been made, and why, were no longer left to interpretation.

Elected leaders spoke directly and on the record, explaining the negotiation process, the decisions made, and the reasoning behind key trade-offs. Tahltan individuals appeared throughout campaign materials, reinforcing accountability and transparency.

Information was also restructured around audience needs. Rather than directing members toward dense legal documents, the team developed materials tailored to groups within the community, including Elders, mine workers, and business owners.

Hard questions, including skeptical and critical ones, were addressed publicly and directly. Environmental risks were acknowledged alongside mitigations and areas where uncertainty remained.

Across 12 communities, 388 members attended in-person engagement sessions, providing the kind of relational contact digital channels cannot fully replicate. Online sessions were held throughout the campaign and attendance grew steadily as voting approached.

The Outcome

Engagement shifted measurably over the course of the campaign.

Facebook click-through rates reached 17.4%, nearly double earlier benchmarks.
Comment volume increased by 275%, reflecting a shift from passive awareness to active dialogue.
Email click rates rose by 38%, while website traffic showed sustained growth leading directly into the voting period.
Voter participation was more than 49% higher than the most recent Tahltan general election held in the same year.

Website analytics revealed members consistently moving from the homepage through FAQ sections to voting information, reflecting purposeful engagement rather than casual browsing.

The Eskay Creek campaign demonstrated something that extends beyond a single project. In communities where trust has historically been strained, communications strategy cannot be separated from credibility. What works is specificity, visible accountability, genuine dialogue, and the willingness to answer difficult questions directly. When those conditions are in place, communities engage.

“It really is a transformational agreement.”

— Alanna Quock, Tahltan and Ta'an Kwäch'än Council Member