CNC & Cheslatta Carrier Nation offering FREE Cultural Resource Management course
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PRINCE GEORGE- Beneath the waves of Cheslatta lake lie the remains of an ancient system of trails, villages, trap lines, and burial grounds. The Cheslatta Carrier Nation and their ancestors have been in this region for at least the past 10,000 years. Following the completion of Kenney Dam in the 1950s and the subsequent inundation of the Nechako Reservoir, huge swaths of land were lost to the flood waters, and with it, thousands of years worth of history and cultural resources washed away.
Recovering the region’s history, and preserving it for future generations, was the inspiration behind the new partnership between Chezlatta and The College of New Caledonia. Together, the College and the Cheslatta Nation are providing an opportunity for students to dig into the region’s rich history, while learning the tools of the archeologist’s trade and provide valuable archival services to the Cheslatta Nation, at a time when the Archeology and Cultural Resource fields are in flux… and students can even earn a wage while doing it.
Last year, according to Mike Robertson, there were major challenges staffing an expanded dig site at the location of a recently re-discovered Cheslatta Nation village… The hope this year, is that with CNC’s support, in the form of housing, transportation, and a training wage for enrolled students, the Cultural Resource Management partnership will break new ground for the next generation of archeologists and archivist in the North.
