Spirit houses of deceased ancestors at a traditional cemetery site on the shoreline of Cheslatta Lake.Theresa Lee
The families of the Cheslatta Carrier First Nation have been waiting decades for British Columbia to make amends for the callous flooding of their village and graveyards – the result of government-approved industrial development that still causes their ancestors' bones to wash up on the shores of Cheslatta Lake.
Half a dozen elders who were forced from their homes with two weeks notice in 1952 to make way for construction of the Kenney Dam will be present on Monday when Premier Christy Clark is scheduled to visit the old village site. Some will recall how their families buried their possessions before they were evicted, hoping in vain to return to their homes. They may remember their first winters spent in tents on unfamiliar land.
The Premier is set to travel to the remote community in central B.C. to sign a framework agreement that promises reconciliation. "It's giving back our dignity," Chief Corrina Leween said in a telephone interview.
The pact won't stop the annual flooding that causes so much grief to the community as they watch their ancestral graves disappear beneath the water. Moving the graves is taboo, but the Cheslatta T'en have tried to adapt by temporarily moving their spirit houses – coffin-sized structures that sit atop graves – when the waters rise.
The agreement is a signal that the province is finally prepared to move in the right direction, but there are as yet no specifics. For many years, the community has pursued a solution – they want to build a water-release facility and hydro power plant – that would alleviate the floods and create a source of income.
Monday's agreement makes only a vague commitment to working on resource development, cash, land, job training and other benefits for the 330 band members, including the 130 members who live on the small scattered reserves about 150 kilometres southeast of Prince George.
Chief Leween says the details, which she hopes will be worked out by the end of this year, are important for rebuilding the community. But economic benefits are not the only concern. She hopes to walk the Premier through the half-gone cemetery, so that she can see the consequences of that long-ago decision to give control of the Nechako River over to a corporation (formerly Alcan, now Rio Tinto) to secure the construction of the aluminum smelter in Kitimat.
"I'd like to explain to her what this does every year to our people, to see their loved ones' graves underwater, the spirit houses washing into the lake," she said. "Any reconciliation with my community has to deal with the healing and taking away some of the hurt, especially for the elders that walked out of Cheslatta that day, so they can finally forgive. Then we can move on to housing and other things."
With the intractable delays in settling treaties in British Columbia, it is understandable that the Premier is drawn to moving forward with reconciliation where she can. The Cheslatta Carrier First Nation wants to pursue economic development, and for a relatively small investment, the province can gain a positive resolution here.
Mike Robertson is the Cheslatta Carrier's senior policy adviser. When he started in 1981, the reserves had no running water, no sewer services, no paved roads. Conditions are better now and the community takes pride in resolving its own issues.
"We're working our butts off building our community. This reconciliation will provide a little comfort that B.C. is working with us, to enhance our culture and restore the historic things that we lost," Mr. Robertson said.
"We don't have our hands out, we are working with our partners, but we have to take the reins. We have to develop the capacity to do it ourselves. It's a parallel process, the community has to be motivated and the government – and industry – has to help along the way."
If the province can work with a willing partner and secure a deal with this community by the end of the year, it will be commendable accomplishment by Ms. Clark. But these one-off settlements cannot mask the need to address the larger issues facing First Nations communities across the province: There is a virtual deadlock in treaty-making, unacceptably poor aboriginal education and health standards and an abysmal rate of child apprehensions in native communities. These are substantive issues that will take considerably more resources and commitment from the Premier.
Justine Hunter