Two Vanderhoof fishermen, father and son Darrell and Marcus Pohls, recently found more than they were looking for while fishing on Cheslatta Lake, south of 亚洲天堂 Lake in the beginning of June. They noticed what appeared to be human bones sticking out of the soil along the shoreline.
They immediately contacted the offices of the Cheslatta Carrier Nation (CCN) on Southside.
Mike Robertson, Southside resident and senior policy advisor with CCN quickly organized a recovery effort.
鈥淚f we didn鈥檛 recover them now, they would have flooded again,鈥� said Robertson. 鈥淓very year that lake floods like clockwork.鈥�
Water levels of Cheslatta Lake and the Cheslatta River system are controlled by the Nechako Reservoir Spillway, which in turn controls the level of the Nechako Reservoir. The constant influx and retreat of water levels means that buried graves are occasionally exposed as fresh layers of soil are removed each time flooding rises and then retreats.
The grave was found near the site of the since destroyed village of Belgatse, near Knapp Creek. The village and its church were razed to the ground and its 50 inhabitants forced to relocate in the early 1950s as engineers and Alcan (now Rio Tinto Alcan) company workers cleared the way for rising water levels.
鈥淭his grave yielded some unexpected items including a ring, rosary beads and a necklace containing over 30 very large glass beads,鈥� Robertson said. 鈥淎rchaeologists were surprised at the large 7/8" glass beads, saying in all their years of experience, they had never seen these particular beads. The person is estimated to be an older woman, buried in the early to mid 1800s.鈥�
The remains were removed by two Cheslatta-commissioned archeologists who took the bones and artifacts to the University of Northern British Columbia for further analysis.
鈥淯sually we just find one or two bones,鈥� Robertson said of the find. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never had to do a full grave removal like this since the 1950s.鈥�
But the research won鈥檛 be cheap.
鈥淛ust to hire an archeologist team is in the area of $10,000,鈥� Robertson said. 鈥淭hen we鈥檒l still have to pay for the analysis at UNBC.鈥�
Cheslatta Carrier Nation Chief Richard Peters said his people are tired of disturbing their ancestors and he called on the provincial government to work with them on the Kenney Dam Freshwater Release Facility.
鈥淲e鈥檙e confounded by the government and their lack of interest in this issue,鈥� explained Robertson. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the ones that caused this issue by their lack of foresight in the 50s.鈥�
The Kenny Dam was built in 1952 to create a water reservoir to supply downstream hydro-electric turbines to power the Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum smelters. More than 120,000 acres of land were flooded, creating the modern Nechako Reservoir.
During the original flooding of the lake and river system, many graves were exposed. Coffins were seen floating on Cheslatta Lake and bones washed up along the shoreline. Since then, Cheslatta gravesites have frequently been disturbed by the regular flooding of the Cheslatta Lake waterway system.
The proposed Kenny Dam Water Release Facility would eliminate the need to flood the Cheslatta Lake system. The Cheslatta Carrier Nation is currently in negotiations to establish an energy purchase agreement with BC Hydro.
鈥淭he Kenny Dam water release facility would entirely eliminate the potential for any kind of flooding,鈥� Roberston said. 鈥淲e could carry on with the environmental rehabilitation of the river system and the social rehabilitation of the community.鈥�
