JAN 3 12018
This is the 1st Affidavit of R. Olson in this case and was made on 30/Jan/2018
0EGISTR4
No. 18 0247 Victoria Registry
In the Supreme Court of British Columbia BETWEEN: WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS, and ROLAND WILLSON ON HIS OWN BEHALF AND ON BEHALF OF ALL OTHER WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS BENEFICIARIES OF TREATY NO. 8 PLAINTIFFS AND: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA, and BRITISH COLUMBIA HYDRO AND POWER AUTHORITY DEFENDANTS
AFFIDAVIT #1 OF RACHEL OLSON I, Rachel Olson, with a business address of 510 W Hastings St #505, Vancouver British Columbia, Social Anthropologist, solemnly affirm and say as follows: 1. I am a Social Anthropologist with the Firelight Group. I have personal knowledge of the facts and matters in this Affidavit, except where stated to be on information and belief, in which case I verily believe them to be true. Part A: Expert Report 1. I was retained by Sage Legal, counsel for the Plaintiffs in this Action, to prepare an expert report. I have been asked to provide my opinions regarding: (a) The significance of the Peace River valley to West Moberly First Nations' Dunneza ancestors, including to their hunting, fishing, and trapping; their navigation, economy, culture, and spirituality; and to other aspects of their
{18001-001/00637278.3}
-2traditional way of life, from at or around the time of admittance into Treaty
8; (b)
The socio-cultural effects which members of the Hudson's Hope Indian Band or West Moberly First Nations have experienced or continue to experience as a result of the construction of the WAC Bennett dam and the Peace Canyon dam; and,
(c)
The cultural significance of the Peace River valley to West Moberly First Nations today.
2.
Attached to my affidavit as Exhibit "A" is my expert report in response to these
instructions (the "Expert Report"). I hold the opinions expressed in my Expert Report and adopt the Expert Report as my evidence in this proceeding. 3.
I certify that I am aware of my duty as an expert witness to assist the court and
not to be an advocate for any party. I further certify that I have made my Expert Report in conformity with this duty and will, if called on to give oral or written testimony, give that testimony in conformity with this duty. 4.
My Expert Report is based on my experience and expertise in the fields of
anthropology, traditional knowledge and traditional use practices of indigenous peoples, and specific experience and expertise with respect to indigenous peoples of northeastern British Columbia. A copy of my curriculum vita is included in my Expert Report. Documents Relied on in Formulating My Expert Report
5.
The documents I reviewed and relied on in forming my Expert Report are
described in Section 1 of my Expert Report and the sources relied on are listed in Section 8 of my Expert Report.
-36.
I swear this Affidavit in support of the Plaintiffs' application for an injunction in this
proceeding .
1<1'
1(17
S\IVORN (OR AFFIRMED) BEFORE ME at Vancouver, British Columbia, on 30/Jan/2018..
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BARRISTER & SOLICITOR '路 856 Homer Street, 4th Floor Vancouver, BC V6B 2W5 路 ; Tel: 604-689-7555 Fax: 604-689-7554
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Ethnohistorical and Traditional Knowledge and Use Study FOR
The Peace River Region and the Site C Dam Rachel Olson, PhD and Steven DeRoy, MSc with Firelight Research Inc. January 29, 2018
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') L F INAL R EPORT: WEST M OBERLY ETHNOHISTO RICAL AND TUS FOR THE P EACE RIVER V ALLEY
West Moberly First Nations Ethnohistory Report for the Peace River Region and Site C Dam FINAL REPORT I January 29, 2018
Prepared and authored by: Rachel Olson, PhD, and Steven DeRoy, MSc, Firelight Research Inc.
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fiNAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORlCAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... 5 List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................................... 6 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Organization and approach ............................................................................................................ 7 1.2 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 10 1.2.1 Etlmohistory methods ............................................................................................................................ 10 1.2.2 Traditional Use Study methods ........................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Theoretical framework ................................................................................................................... 11 2. Pre-Contact ............................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Archaeological Evidence ................................................................................................................ 13 2.2 Pre-Contact Dreamers and Prophets ........................................................................................ 14 2.2.1 Dreamer's Island ....................................................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Oral History: Dinosaurs in the Peace River Valley ............................................................. 17 2.4 Peace Point Treaty ............................................................................................................................ 19 2.5 Ohchachuskachan Sagaigun (Carbon Lake): The Last Great Battle ............................. 19 3. Contact, Fur Trade, & Lead-Up to Treaty ........................................................................ 21 3.1 Expansion of the Fur Trade in the Peace River Region .................................................... 21 3.2 Murder at Fort St. john Resource Scarcity and Hostile Territories ............................. 24 3.3 Turn of the Century: Discovery of Gold and the Lead-Up to Treaty ........................... 26 3.3.1 3.3.2
Klondikers Observations of Bear Flats ............................................................................................ 26
6.2.1 6.2.2 6.2.3 6.2.4 6.2.5 6.2.6 6.2. 7
The Peace River- General ....................................................................................................................... S1 Critical Areas Along the Peace River ................................................................................................ .56 Upstream of Eagle Island ....................................................................................................................... 62 Buffalo jump ................................................................................................................................................ 62 Bear Flats ...................................................................................................................................................... 62 Canoe in the Bush (Halfway) ................................................................................................................ 66 Camp with Animal Crossing ................................................................................................................. 68
Treaty Adhesion at Hudson's Hope ................................................................................................... 27 3.4 Creation and settlement on reserves ....................................................................................... 29 4. Traditional Seasonal Round at or Around the time ofTreaty ................................. 31 4.1 Hunting and Fishing ......................................................................................................................... 31 4.2 Trapping ................................................................................................................................................ 34 4.3 Trails and Travel Routes ................................................................................................................ 36 4.4 Bear Flats .............................................................................................................................................. 39 4.5 Rocky Mountain Fort ....................................................................................................................... 40 4.6 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 43 5. The WAC Bennett Dam and the Peace Canyon Dam ................................................... 44 5.1 Impacts to hunting, fishing, and gathering .......................................................................... ..44 5.2 Impacts to Trails and Travel Routes ......................................................................................... 47 5.3 Impacts to Burial Sites .................................................................................................................... 49 5.4 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 50 6. Significance of the Peace River to WMFN today ........................................................... 51 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 51 6.1.1 TUS Organization ...................................................................................................................................... 51 6.2 WMFN Use and Values in the Peace River Valley................................................................ 51
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FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
6.2.8 6.2. 9
Farrell Creek to The Gates ..................................................................................................................... 69 Lynx Creek. ................................................................................................................................................... 70
6.2.10
Rocky Mountain Fort Area ................................................................................................................. 70
6.2.11 6.2.12 6.2.13 6.2.14 6.2.15
Dreamer's Island ..................................................................................................................................... 71 Trappers LakeArea ............................................................................................................................... 72 Peace-Moberly Tract ............................................................................................................................. 72 Sucker Lake ............................................................................................................................................... 75 Islands and Old Growth Forests ....................................................................................................... 76
6.3 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 79 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 80 7.1 Opinion on the signficance of Peace River valley at or around the time of Treaty 80 7.2 Opinion on the socio-cultural impacts of the dams on the Peace River .................... 81 7.3 Opinion on the signficance of the Peace River for WMFN today .................................. 81 8. Works Cited .............................................................................................................................. 82 7.
Appendix 1: Interview Guide ........................................................................................................... 89 Appendix 2: Rachel Olson CV ........................................................................................................... 97 Appendix 3: Steven DeRoy CV ...................................................................................................... 108
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4
r J FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: CRITICAL AREAS IDENTIFIED BY WMFN ................................................................. 9 FIGURE 2: DREAMER'S ISLAND (PHOTO CREDIT: GEORGE DESJARLAIS) ...........•..................... 16 FIGURE 3: FORT ST. JOHN (PHOTO PROVIDED BY WMFN) ..................•.....•........................... 24 FIGURE 4: HBC POST (PHOTO PROVIDED BY WMFN) ..........................•............................... 29 FIGURE 5: BEAR FLATS (PHOTO CREDIT: GEORGE DESJARLAIS) ........................................... 37 FIGURE 6: VIEW FROM OLD HUDSONS HOPE TRAIL (PHOTO CREDIT: FIRELIGHT) ....................• 39 FIGURE 7: CRITICAL AREA 1 IDENTIFIED BY WMFN .............................................................. 57 FIGURE 8: CRITICAL AREA 21DENTIFIED BYWMFN .............................................................. 58 FIGURE 9: CRITICAL AREA 3 IDENTIFIED BY WMFN .............................................................. 59 FIGURE 10: CRITICALAREA41DENTIFIED BY WMFN ............................................................ 60 FIGURE 11: CRITICAL AREA 5 IDENTIFIED BY WMFN ............•..........................................•.... 61 FIGURE 12: CONFLUENCE OF THE HALFWAY RIVER AND PEACE RIVER (PHOTO CREDIT: FIRELIGHT) ............................•.........................................•...........................•............. 66 FIGURE 13: CAMP COOKOUT (PHOTO CREDIT: GEORGE DESJARLAIS) .................................... 67 FIGURE 14: ISLAND ON THE PEACE (PHOTO CREDIT: FIRELIGHT) ............................•.............. 77
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6 FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
LIST OF ACRONYMS CLC
Charlie Lake Cave
HBC
Hudson's Bay Company
TK
Traditional Knowledge
TUS
Tradtitional Knowledge and Use Study
UBCIC
Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs
WMFN
West Moberly First Nations
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7 FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
1.
INTRODUCTION
The following report outlines the role and importance of the Peace River valley in the Dunne-za way of life. This report was prepared at the request of West Moberly First Nations (WMFN) to assist the court in a civil claim and injunction application we understand WMFN will bring in relation to the proposed BC Hydro Site C project. On December 22"d, 2017, WMFN engaged Dr. Rachel Olson, of Firelight Research Inc. to provide expert opinion as a social anthropologist with specialization in the field of traditional knowledge (TK), traditional land use (TLU), and the Indigenous peoples of northeastern British Columbia, in relation to the following: The significance of the Peace River valley to West Moberly First Nations' Dunneza ancestors, including to their hunting, fishing, and trapping; their navigation, economy, culture, and spirituality; and to other aspects of their traditional way of life, from around or at the time of admittance into Treaty 8; â&#x20AC;˘
The socio-cultural effects which members of the Hudson's Hope Indian Band or West Moberly First Nations have experienced or continue to experience as a result of the construction of the WAC Bennett dam and the Peace Canyon dam; and, The cultural significance of the Peace River valley to West Moberly First Nations today.
Throughout this report, Dunne-za is used to describe the ancestors of the West Moberly First Nations, and the current Beaver communities that continue to live in the Peace River region of north-eastern British Columbia.
1.1
ORGANIZATION AND APPROACH
The report is organized into six sections that follow a temporal development. Time periods include: pre-contact, contact through the fur trade to treaty adhesion, focus on the seasonal round at or around the time of treaty; the creation and subsequent years after the creation of the WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon dams; and a traditional knowledge and use study focusing on current use of the Peace River valley. This report is based on a review and analysis of relevant literature, including archival records, oral history interviews, and archaeological and ethnographic publications. Section 6 is based on primary data collection with WMFN members, as well as past traditional use study (TUS) information collected by WMFN. Further details on methods used in this report are located in Section 1.2. The report is a summary of available information. For the pre-contact to admittance to treaty, information from other Dunne-za communities is sometimes used. These contributions serve to demonstrate the use and occupation of the Peace River to all Dunne-za. In the next two sections, the impact from the dams and current traditional use study, WMFN-specific data is the main source of information.
7
FINAL REPORT:
WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
The report concludes with my expert opinion concerning the importance of the Peace River valley to WMFN and their Dunne-za ancestors.
8
FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL A ND
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10 FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORlCAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
1.2
METHODOLOGY
The methods used in this report focus on three main social scientific methodological tools: literature review and thematic analysis and traditional land use mapping. 1.2.1 Ethnohistory methods The ethnohistorical section of the report relies on a literature review and thematic coding to elicit a historical narrative of the Peace River valley from pre-contact times to the time of admittance to treaty. Documents such as oral history interviews with Dunneza elders, archival records from early explorers and fur traders, and early anthropological ethnographic writings were all reviewed using a systematic method of coding and text analysis. A database of literature, focusing on particular practices (including but not limited to: hunting, fishing, and trapping, their navigation, economy, culture, and spirituality), and places (focusing on key places within the Peace River valley) was compiled and analysed for key themes. Some limitations of this method were inability to pinpoint a clear time period from the oral histories that were reviewed, although general temporal ranges (e.g. deep time) could be elicited. Another limitation is that the reliance on early European observations of the Dunne-za are in themselves quite limited, in that it is clear that there is a flawed understanding of the complex ecological and kinship systems of the Dunne-za. As a result, these writings often contain conclusions on the identities and the relations between Indigenous groups, and delineation of territorial boundaries that require careful contextualization. Despite these limitations, however, the Information contained in this report can provide a clear understanding of the cultural significance of the Peace River for WMFN and their Dunne-za ancestors. 1.2.2 Traditional Use Study methods The term traditional use study refers to refers to a study that considers First Nations, Inuit, or Metis use and occupancy of lands, as well as related issues or concerns based on First Nations, Inuit, or Metis knowledge. Such a study includes "the collection of interview data about traditional use of resources and occupancy of lands ... and the presentation of those data in map form" (Tobias 2000:xi). It is a systematic and evidence-based form of investigation that applies traditional indigenous knowledge and social science to answer research questions. For the purposes of this TUS, site-specific values are values (also referred to as data) reported by Dunne-za people that are specific, spatially distinct, and that may be mapped. Site-specific data were mapped and managed using a "direct-to-digital" process, in which satellite imagery, provided by Google Earth, was projected onto a wall or screen. Points, lines, or polygons, gao-referenced at a scale of 1:50,000 or finer, were used to mark areas of reported use and value. Qualitative values are values collected during mapping interviews or sourced from publicly available documents including transcripts from the Joint Review Panel oral testimony, affidavits, and previously published TUS reports and ethnographic materials.
10
1 fiNAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTOAICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
Three WMFN members were interviewed lor this study from January 15-19'", 2018. See Appendix One for the Interview Guide used during these interviews. All members gave their consent to be interviewed orally, and consented to their names being used in association with the site-specific and qualitative data. Some limitations of this method are: Not all WMFN knowledge holders were able to participate in this Study. Efforts were made to include key knowledge holders active within the Peace River region, but many WMFN members with important knowledge of the Study area may have been unable to participate due to time restrictions. â&#x20AC;˘
Data collected lor each participant is limited by what the participant is able and willing to report within the limited time available and within the limits of what is appropriate to report publically.
It is noted that throughout the report, the qualitative data from WMFN members are cited in a number of ways. In some instances, information from hearings or other publicly available documents, the names of WMFN members are cited. When drawing from previous TUS interviews by WMFN members, a personal identification number (e.g. W01) is used. This is a result of the confidentiality agreements that were signed during the interviews lor the previous TUS studies. All quotes using a code like this are WMFN members. WMFN has identified 15 Critical Areas in the Peace River area in relation to this project. These were developed by WMFN with Firelight Research Inc. through a review of existing and new traditional land use areas, and WMFN serious concern over irreversible impacts of the Site C- project activities. These are: Upstream of Eagle Island; Buffalo Jump; Bear Flats; Canoe in the Bush (Halfway); Camp with animal crossing; Farrell Creek to The Gates; Lynx Creek; Rocky Mountain Fort area; Dreamer's Island; Peace-Moberly Tract (Transmission Corridor); Trappers Lake Area; Sucker Lake; Islands and Old Growth Forests. See Figure 1 lor a map of these Critical Areas and the proposed footprint of the Site C dam in relation to these critical areas. Where possible, throughout the report, these critical areas are identified in relation to the historical and oral history information available. In Section 6, the supplemental traditional use study, these areas are characterized by both site-specific information as well as qualitative data associated to these areas.
1.3
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The importance of place-based knowledge has been firmly established by many anthropologists. Concepts of space, place, and landscape are fundamental to our understandings of human knowledge and experience. In my opinion, these are of particular importance when understanding the role of place, the Peace River valley, in relation to WMFN's history and culture. The primacy of place within the Dunne-za oral history is key to understanding the relationship between the Dunne-za and the Peace River valley. Casey (1996) describes the concept of place as the "embodied perception
11
FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICALAND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
that remains the foundation of human knowledge and experience" (p. 14). Similarly, Basso (1 996) emphasizes the importance of place in cultural identity and protocols through an exploration of indigenous moral discourses that are anchored to specific places in the landscape. Stewart and Strathern (2003) similarly define place as a "socially meaningful and identifiable space to which a historical dimension is attributed" (p. 4). They posit that landscape is produced through an interaction between place and community, and use "history and memory to explore the economic, political and social events that impact perceived visions of landscape and the perceived placement of people within these settings" (p. 1). Within this framework, I contend that the Peace River valley becomes a central anchor point from which Dunne-za's history, memory, knowledge, and the transmission of knowledge is realized. A key component of passing on this knowledge is that it must be experiential, meaning that experiencing the place is essential to knowing and understanding the Dunne-za landscape. (Ingold, 2000) While it is important to understand the concepts of place and landscape within this context, it is also important to understand the transmission of knowledge through oral history. When stories are shared, they are rooted in these common understandings of how communities occupy particular places. Oral history, the communication of observation and memory is at the heart of the Indigenous tradition of recording and communicating both symbolic representation and lived experience. As anthropologist Julie Cruikshank (1 990) has noted, oral histories are framed by connections- to the land and to the community through kinship. Noting kinship and ties and Invoking place names are core elements in an oral tradition as they communicate a deep body of knowledge which draws on both accrued observational understandings of an environment as well a culturally transmitted layer of symbolism, connected to the myth and meaning which communicates significance in oral tradition-rooted cultures. From this understanding of both the importance of place-based knowledge and oral history within the context of WMFN and their Dunne-za ancestors in the Peace River valley, in my opinion the oral histories presented in this section serve to illustrate the deep connection of the WMFN within the Peace River valley.
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"7
) FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
2.
PRE-CONTACT
The Dunne-za of north-eastern British Columbia has used the Peace River valley since time immemorial. Central to understanding the cultural significance of the Peace River valley to WMFN and their Dunne-za ancestors are two key concepts: the Prophet and Dreaming tradition, and the traditional seasonal round. A brief overview of the archaeological record in the Peace River region, dating back to >10,000 BP, will be reviewed. In the pre-contact period, the role of key places within the landscape of the Peace River valley is established as important and continuous components of WMFN and their Dunne-za ancestors' way of life. Throughout this report, the continuity of these oral histories of places within the Dunne-za landscape will be shown and discussed.
2.1
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
During 1974-76, Dr. Knut Fladmark conducted archaeological assessments within the Peace River Valley. He stated:
. . . The first archaeological study ever done along the banks of the Peace River in B.C. reviewed at least 100 sites which may have been occupied by prehistoric man. Artifacts discovered included a number of projectile points (spearheads and arrowheads), believed to be dated back as far as 8,000 years. (in Evans 2008:1) Fladmark also noted that of the 100 sites, there was a high concentration located in the Bear Flat region of the Peace River valley (in Evans 2008}. This is in line with the TUS data reviewed for this report, which indicates a high degree of historical and continued use in the area (see Section 6). Another important site, the Charlie Lake Cave (CLC}, which is approximately eight kilometres away from the Peace River, is one of the few sites in western Canada that has been dated to > 10,000 BP (Driver and Vallieres 2008:239). The CLC is characterized as a Palaeoindian site that "contains well-preserved faunal remains in clear association with stone tools" (Driver and Vallieres 2008:239). The main findings of the CLC were focused on bison remains, which were radiocarbon dated from 10,770 to 9760 BP, and suggest that the CLC was used on more than one occasion as a meat cache (Driver and Vallieres 2008; Fladmark 1980:135). According to Driver and Vallieres (2008):
.. . We believe these specimens [bison] were transported from a kill location ... and we suggest that the middle and lower legs were selected for cold storage in order to preserve meat and fat (marrow) for future use, and that the CLC assemblage represents a mix of processed and unprocessed items for a series of storage events in the dry, inaccessible cave. (p. 253)
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14 FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORtCAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
In addition to this archaeological record, Dunne-za oral histories detail bison hunting in the Peace River valley, and in particular, around Bear Flats. This will be discussed below in Section 4.1.3 and 6.2.1.
2.2
PRE-CONTACT DREAMERS AND PROPHETS
The stories of dreamers and prophets about places in the Peace River valley, from both pre-contact to post-contact times, remain central to how WMFN and their Dunne-za ancestors relate to the Peace River valley. These stories serve to both connect the WMFN and other Dunne-za to the history of the river valley, as well as establish their central role in the present and future of the Peace River valley. In order to fully contextualize the significance of the Peace River within these oral histories, it is important to first understand the role of the dreaming and prophet traditions within the Dunne-za way of life. A key element of these oral histories is that they connect key places on the land to stories that have been passed down through generations. As Ridington (2011) explains:
The Dunne-za tell about a time when giant animals roamed the earth and hunted people. The first hunter, Saya, consulted the wise stories of his grandmother and then applied this knowledge to overcoming them. (p. 23) Dreaming Is a central component of Dunne-za spiritual life, continuing through the various time periods outlined in this report. Periodically, individual Dunne-za become Dreamers or Prophets who lead the group through a difficult time. Dreaming is a process where men and women experience some aspect of the future, and, according to Ridington (1987), provided a framework for "processing the culture's store of information about the continuously unfolding pattern of human and animal trails" (p. 10). Dreamers are leaders who often have dreams or visions of future events and thus are sometimes group leaders who may organize or lead communal hunts or harvesting activities, among other events:
Dunne-za Dreamers are people who have "gone through to heaven and come back to earth in the same body." ... Before the Dunne-za came into contact with Europeans, the Dreamers acted as hunt chiefs who directed communal hunting. Their ability to dream ahead allowed them to visualize the way people should arrange themselves in relation to one another and to the game animals. These dream images symbolized their fundamental message: Dreamers taught the Dunne-za to five in harmony with one another and with the other creatures of their world. (Ridington and Ridington 2013:157) The tradition of Dreamers remains a part of Dunne-za spiritual and community life, with information about important sites and the histories of individual Dreamers or Prophets passed down through oral tradition:
Mak'ihts'eweswaa was his Dreamer's name. His personal name was Atsukwa ... probably born in the mid 1880's, and he died in 1916. Although he was a member of the Halfway (Hudson Hope) Band, his teachings were important to all Dunne-za. Johnny Chipesia and Augustin Jumble both
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fiNAL REPORT; WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
told... Robin that Mak'ihts'eweswaa had lived near Moberly Lake as young man. (Ridington and Ridington 2013:172) Dreamers and Prophets in the area have, over the course of the history of Dunne-za occupation of the Peace River area, foreseen various major events, including the arrival of white settlers: My father told me about a Cree prophet named Webby Calahasen. Before he died, sometime between 1920 and 1930 Webby gathered people together and told them that he had dreamed of a different kind of people who would be coming. He said that they were going to be pale in colour, with light hair, and have eyes made of blue like heaven. They are going to be smart people, he said. Webby predicted that these people would make a "Wuskoti" (pipe, or pipeline), that would fly in the sky, and that they would put in a "Wuskotomi" (Cree for "dam'~. (Napoleon 2013:8) The Beaver prophet Makenunatane had dreamed their coming, and come they did. In the summer or fall of 1794, an advance party of North West Company men made their way up the Peace River to the Sinew River, as recommended in Mackenzie's journal of the previous year. (Burley, Fladmark, and Hamilton 1996:49) One particular prophecy of the damming of the Peace River, said to be from before contact, is recounted by George Desjarlais: ... There was a prophecy that was passed. I don't know how long; it was before the coming of the white man. An old man was asked in a dream to do a ceremony, and he was shown how to do it, and in this dream when he - when the ceremony was over, he said he had to go into a deep trance, I guess. That's the only way I can explain it. And he said he talked to a being. He didn't really see, but he heard. And he said there will come a time when there's-- this land will be full of these light-skinned people and this big river that runs through our country, they're going-- like the beaver, they're going to block it. They will build one big one, and for a long time they will hold it back. And then they'll build another one and another one and another one, because that's what beavers do. They will block a creek causing reservoir after reservoir. And he said they will hold back the water for a time and eventually that first dam they build, the big one, will break. In the mid '90s when the sinkhole appeared in Williston, the elders at Moberly Lake became afraid because they thought it was time for that prophecy to come true, but it was avoided. (George Desjarlais in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013:58-59) Molly Desjarlais, a WMFN elder, born in 1922, told the story of the Prophet, her great grandfather, who dreamed of Europeans moving into the area, including the important area of Klinse-Za (Twin Sisters): The man who dreamed for 10 days. He said the first time the white man sets foot on this land, when he finds the lake (Carbon) not one of those fish
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will remain- only the fishes food with remain. All the rest will go away he only put them there for the people ... My mother use to say that we were to respect the mountains and look after the mountains that sit together. When people are hungry they are suppose to go there and think about the animals. The creator will put one animal there at a time for food, but we are the only ones who are suppose to know this- that is what he had said. He was in a trance for 10 days. "I will awaken at mid day on the 1oth day I am going to visit the Creator, do not bury me. You will kill me. I am only visiting the creator. The creator told me, make sure your wife is not coerced into burying you, as you are only visiting me." It is like my grandfathers fathers, mother are related to the Prophet somehow.. . Those songs I sing the mountain songs those are the songs he brought back with him, also those songs that they using (Halfway) those ones too. We will give on to be keeper/singer of songs when that one sings listen to him ... Only those mountains to be protected when hungry times, on the other side- I did not see where the Pole was erected, my mother saw it on this river, somewhere my mother said we were suppose to go and see it so we will never go hungry. If you are hungry go there if you see lots of animal signs the cross is nearby the animals are called there ... We are to always look after that place. (M . Desjarlais 1998)
The dreamer's preoccupation with the fate of the Peace River is instructive, in its own right, of the link between the Dunne-za and the Peace River valley. The dreamer's stories above remain central to the Dunne-za identity and history of their homelands.
2.2.1 Dreamer's Island Based on my understanding of the Dunne-za tradition of Dreamers described above, the story regarding Dreamer's Island (see Figure 1: Map of Critical Areas) is particularly illustrative of the connection between place, Dreaming, and oral history in Dunne-za culture. A West Moberly member describes this story, as passed down to him in the oral tradition: So the story I know of this is years ago before there were any settlements here, a dreamer was camped on the shores here. There's a bunch of little rock formations here, and he was camped there with his family and he had a horse. And he had a dream that night that he was floating over
Figure 2: Dreamer's Island (Photo Credit: George Desjarlais)
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the water that he was looking for a place to do a vision quest. And when he woke up in the morning he found himself on top of that little rock, and had no way - had no way of getting up there. So him and his horse were over there and his family was on the shores calling for him. In order for him to get off the rock he had to push his horse off and jump into the river and swim back across. What I 've been told about the area is that's been called Dreamer's Rock because he had a dream. It's supposed to be a rather spiritual area. If you go in here there's a bit of a canyon in here, when I go in there I know it's been there for a long time." (W08 2011) As noted in the story above, the role of dreaming functions on multiple levels. Dreams foretell future events; they also guided communal hunting and spoke directly to the relationship between Dunne-za and animals. In a broader perspective, dreamer's stories and prophecies also contain important lessons in how Dunne-za should act, including cultural protocols and morals, in particular places in the landscape. As Molly Desjarlais stated above, the role of the Dunneza in particular places within the Peace River valley region was to "look after that place".
2.3
ORAL HISTORY: DINOSAURS IN THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
Elder Molly Desjarlais told the story of her grandfather tracking a dinosaur-like being in the Peace River valley, similar to creatures referred to in other accounts as "Ses lnkotius" in Beaver. I have retained the use of the word dinosaur to describe them , consistent with the English used by Molly Desjarlais, though the Beaver meaning may be different. Although this account takes place in more recent times, in and around the late 1800s or early 1900s, in my opinion the continuity of the interactions between Dunne-za and non-human beings, the role of Dreamers and Prophets in these Interactions, and the centrality of particular places within the Peace River valleyparticularly Bear Flats, Hudson Hope, and the Peace Canyon falls-are Important aspects in understanding the relationship between the Dunne-za and the Peace River area. Molly explains:
My mother saw this; she was a child a young girl. The people were fleeing. The Old man is dead now on the side hill of Hudson Hope, they stayed there, wintered there. They had a hard time for wood; they stayed in a leanto (Mistic Kamow) ... My grandmother walked a long way gathering wood and piling it. It was getting wintertime. My grandfather climbed the cliffs, climbing, climbing, looking for bear dens. They had to- if there is no bear what will people eat? There has to be bear grease. Bears had to be found. My grandmother ran up the hill. There she tracked an animal. The tracks were round; there were imprints of fur around tracks. She grabbed a stick and ran down the hill. The tracks were very big. Antoine and them were there. There was an elder there too. She called for "everyone to gather together and run. Someone is to go to the stpre owner- I tracked a very unusual animal. Everyone ran, they were carrying a gun, running to check the tracks. The animals tracks led to the side hill going around the cliffs. They wrote measurements of the tracks and wrote everything down. They
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said it was a dinosaur. It was near wintertime, and my grandfather was over there in those hills somewhere. He was camped near the hills by the dam [where the dam is now located] somewhere. All night long, he had with him a good hunting dog. The dog growled and growled, he fay flattened to the ground his hair on his neck was standing up he growled and growled. He was frightened. That morning he had brought the bear there he grabbed a front quarter threw in on his shoulder and ran home. Antoine's father went looking for my grandfatherhe was willing to fay his fife down for him. He met him. "What is It?" my grandfather asked. "We tracked a very unusual animal, we thought it might have killed you, I came looking for you." He was carrying a gun and an axe. My grandfather said my dog was afraid all night long I do not know what he was afraid of. The mountain where he was at they searched near Johnson Creek, they walked all the way to where the dam is now- nothing. They went to the other side as far as where the water falls- nothing. That is what they say, I often wonder if perhaps the animal fell from the cliffs to his death. Everyone was afraid and wou/dn 't go and check. Those elder dreamed that no one should go there the tracks led. (M. Desjarlais 1998) Dunne-za elder Gerry Hunter also spoke about the giant dinosaurs in the Peace River valley, and in particular around the Peace Canyon falls: Through my grandfather, Antoine Hunter I know of an ancient story about a dinosaur on the Peace River, exactly where the WAC Bennett Dam is now. I was taught this story when I was nine or ten years old, and I think Bobby Jackson knows it as well. I had learned about dinosaurs in school, so I asked about them. As the story goes, this was where one of the fast dinosaurs ("Ses /nkotius" In Beaver) roamed, and It was dominating the area. The Beaver name "Ses lnkotlus" means "Stepping over Hills": the dinosaur was so big It could step from one hill to the next. A medicine man from Halfway dreamed about the dinosaurs coming, and met It at the river. It was summer time, and the river current was strong. The medicine man lured the dinosaur into the river just before the waterfall, and the strength of the river swept the dinosaur over the falls. At that time, there were carnivorous fish In the water; when the dinosaur fell In, the fish attacked and the river turned red. When they were excavating for the WAC Bennett Dam, they found dinosaur bones right beside the falls. We had stories about that dinosaur they found: that Is how far back our oral history goes. (Hunter 2013:4) These stories of ancient beings In the Peace River valley are indicative of the temporal depth of oral history of the Dunne-za in relation to these particular places.
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2.4
PEACE POINT TREATY
In the mid-eighteenth century, prior to European contact, oral histories and multiple historical documents refer to extensive conflict between Indigenous groups in the Peace River region, with particularly violent warfare between the Beaver and Cree, which ended with a truce or treaty on the river, which they named Peace River because of this event. This peace treaty between the Beaver and Cree is well known along the Peace River, extending into Alberta. Alexander Mackenzie (1962) referred to this event in his journal, indicating that the treaty also served to determine the territorial boundary between the Beaver and Cree:
[October 1792] ... On the 13th at noon we came to the Peace Point; from which, according to the report of my interpreter, the river derives its name; it was the spot where the Knisteneaux [Cree] and Beaver Indians settled their dispute; the real name of the river and point being that of the land which was the object of contention. When this country was formerly invaded by the Knisteneaux, they found the Beaver Indians inhabiting the land about Portage Ia Lache [Methye Portage, Saskatchewan}; and the adjoining tribes before them; when the latter proceeded down the river from the Lake of the Hills, in consequence of which that part of it obtained the name of the Slave River. The former proceeded up the river; and when the Knisteneaux made peace with them, this place was settled to be the boundary. (p. 53) There is extensive oral tradition dealing with this treaty, with Dunne-za elders explaining that:
The Peace River is called the "Big River" in the Beaver language. The Cree and Dane zaa used to fight with one another, and the place where they shook hands and made peace is along the Peace River. (G. Attachie 2013) The only way I could put a date on some of the stories they told me about this area was they said -- they would say, before the coming of the white man. Around here I believe that's over 200 years old... But anyways there was -- the Peace River was pretty important to them, because they saw it as a -- kind of like a main highway, and at the same time they saw it as a dividing line from one group to the next. But in Alberta it was a little different because the Beavers or the Dunne-za and the Crees warred a lot in Alberta, in the prairies. They eventually decided to call a truce and negotiate a peace treaty, all based on a handshake. That's how this river got its name, the Peace River, because this river was the line. (George Desjarlais in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013:51)
2.5
0HCHACHUSKACHAN SAGA/GUN (CARBON lAKE): THE lAST GREAT BATTLE
Ohchachuskachan Saga/gun (Moose Leg Muscle Lake), (CTQ Consultants, Ltd. 2014:19) the traditional name of Carbon Lake, is a lake south of the Peace River. This place is known by the Dunne-za as the place of the last battle between the Dunne-za
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and the people from the north. A story of a battle fought at this area denotes the importance of protecting the area for Dunne-za from other groups, as well as the centrality of this area to the Dunne-za territory. Elder Molly Desjarlais, a WMFN member, in a land use and occupancy study, shared the oral history of Carbon Lake provided here:
A Beaver woman, the daughter-in-law of the one of the group's Elders, was captured by the people from the north and released after promising to provide food, clothing and tools to these people throughout the summer. She did this by helping the people from the north hide just out of sight of the Beaver group. They followed the group as they moved across the territory, through their seasonal round. During this time, the woman had an affair with a man that was a member of the People from the North and became pregnant. As summer turned to fall, the Beaver group, with the people of the north secretly trailing them, began their trek to Carbon Lake, where they would be reunited with other Beaver people preparing to make winter camp at the lake. Winter camp was an important place to share food, shelter and information. The trek to Carbon Lake took them from west of what is now Hudson's Hope to the Peace River, between the WAC Bennett Dam location and Dunleavy Inlet. They made their crossing here, and continued their journey to the north end of Carbon Lake.
The woman advised the People of the North of the winter camp location and encouraged them to attack the Beaver, kill her husband, and "capture" her, taking her back to live with the People of the North, where she would have her child. To this end, she slyly marked the route to the camp and dropped supplies, like rope and axes for making rafts, for the People of the North to find, aiding their attack preparations. She established her shelter at the edge of the camp, allowing her to easily pass food and supplies to the People of the North who were hiding on the outskirts. In the late fall, the woman signaled to the People of the North when the time was right for attack, and they returned to their lands to recruit warriors to aid in the attack. A large group of warriors from the People of the North travelled to Carbon Lake in late October or November and attacked the Beaver people camped there. The attack came from the north and the east. The woman's husband and lover were both killed, along with many others on both sides. When the battle was over, approximately 600 people lay dead at the base of Battleship Mountain, and the People of the North were soundly defeated, with only two of their warriors still alive. Under questioning, they explained how the woman had incited them to attack the Beaver people. As punishment for her treason, the woman was killed by her father-in-law. The two living warriors from the People of the North each lost a hand to the Beaver, and were sent back to their leaders
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to tell of their defeat. This was the last battle between the Beaver and the People of the North. (In CTQ Consultants, ltd. 2014:19)
The story is Important in the context of the Peace River valley, in that the Peace River features as a key place within the story, and speaks to the trail system and river crossings along the Peace River were understood to have been utilized by the Dunne-za and the "Peace of the North" in the pre-contact period.
3. CONTACT, FUR TRADE, & LEAD-UP TO TREATY As in pre-contact times, the Dunne-za were known to live and defend their livelihoods in the Peace River region. The seasonal round practiced by the Dunne-za, is a central observation of the Incoming settlers in the Peace River region. The key focus of this era is on the interactions between Dunne-za and other groups, both Indigenous and nonIndigenous, thus establishing territorial limits. The focal point for many of these interactions was at the forts that were established along the Peace River.
3.1
EXPANSION OF THE FUR TRADE IN THE PEACE RIVER REGION
During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, explorers including Peter Pond, Samuel Hearne, Alexander Mackenzie, John Finlay, Daniel Harmon, and Samuel Fraser arrived in the Peace River valley. The detailed accounts many of these men kept in journals and notebooks help outline the westward expansion of the fur trade, and the livelihoods of Indigenous groups on whose traditional territories these explorers were travelling and, later, settling. During Alexander Mackenzie's travels through the Rocky Mountains and Peace River Canyon In 1793, he emphasised in his journal that the area "called the Sinew River [Pine River]" at the confluence of the Pine and Peace Rivers: ... Would be an excellent situation for a fort or factory, as there is plenty of wood, and every reason to believe that the country abounds in beaver. As for the other animals, they are in evident abundance, as in every direction the elk and the buffalo are seen in possession of the hills and the plains...Mr. Mackay, and one of the young men, killed two elks, and mortally wounded a buffalo, but we only took a part of the flesh of the former. The land above the spot where we encamped, spreads into an extensive plain [Bear Flat], and stretches on to a very high ridge, which, in some parts, presents a face of rock, but is principally covered with verdure, and varied with the poplar and white birch tree. The country is so crowded with animals as to have the appearance, in some places, of a stall-yard, from the state of the ground, and the quantity of dung which is scattered over it. The soil is black and light. (Mackenzie 1962:87)
The North West Company established Rocky Mountain Fort at this location shortly after Mackenzie's travels. Early ethnographer Pliny Goddard (1916) noted that "[t]he Beaver Indians on the Peace River were not in direct contact with Europeans until about 1786, although they had felt the indirect influence of fur traders for some years before that
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date" (p. 21 0), and Rocky Mountain was the first fort built in what is now mainland British Columbia. Although the exact date is sometimes debated, Finlay (1976), Fladmark (1985), and Burley, Fladmark, and Hamilton (1996) argue that the Fort began operations in 1794. In my opinion, this date is confirmed by North West Company explorer (and later fort clerk) John Stuart, who explained, " ... we encamped on the site of the Old Beaver [Moberly] River Fort, first established in 1794" (Finlay 1976:4). As Stuart's description also indicates, Rocky Mountain Fort was located close to the confluence of the Moberly and Peace Rivers-rather than the Pine-on the south bank of the Peace River. The fort was also located at what explorer and North West Company trader Daniel Harmon (1957) understood In 1809 to be the boundary between Beaver and Sekani peoples' territories. As anthropologist Shepherd Krech Ill (1983) emphasizes, the expansion of the fur trade in the Peace River region heavily influenced the regional distribution of Indigenous groups and identities. Dunne-za were organized into smaller bands that were increasingly concentrated in the 1800s at different trading forts:
In the early nineteenth century, Daniel Harmon ... imposed a quite arbitrary distinction on Indians in this region: those west and south of the post of Hudson Hope, on the upper Peace River, he called Sekanis; those to the east he called Beaver Indians ... The Beaver comprised individual and largely autonomous groups (bands), each with a name containing "people of_" or"- people" and with a shared dialect, territory, and kin. The composition of these groups, however, might change often as individuals chose to affiliate themselves with close relatives in one or another band ... The major social, economic, and political unit in this period was this smaller local band. The fur trade produced upsetting and tremendously fluid conditions. Cree Indians, armed with guns, marauded northward from time to time in their quest for furs and skins for the trade, and some of the Athapaskan bands they encountered probably had only been settling into various territories in the Peace River region for approximately 60 to 80 years. As trade posts were established, small bands quite probably coalesced and regional identities emerged around those posts. (p. 41) It is important to note that Harmon "imposed a quite arbitrary distinction on Indians in this region", and therefore, this report will not rely on these observations in an attempt to delineate Dunne-za territory at this time period. Instead, the above observations serve to confirm the presence of Dunne-za in the Peace River region, with limited understanding of territorial limits or boundaries. The geographic positioning of this fort thus allowed European traders to forge ties with both groups:
Whether intentionally or not, the North West Company had ideally situated the 1794 site of Rocky Mountain Fort for trade with the Beaver and the Sekani. The mouth of the Moberly River seemed positioned along an ill-defined border between two peoples, and, at least initially, each came to the post without much fear of attack. (p. 114) Dunne-za oral histories also refer to an abundance of game, and particularly bison, in the Peace River area at the time of contact with Europeans. Traders largely depended on Dunne-za hunting practices to sustain the Europeans living at forts that had been established in Beaver peoples' territory:
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Ounne-za oral tradition has preserved some remarkable stories about events from around the time of first contact. Ooig elder Aku told Robin [Ridington] a story that reveals that the traders depended almost entirely on Ounne-za hunters to supply them with meat. In the story, Aku describes conditions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, when traders relied on hunters and the abundance of bison on the Peace River's prairie ... In return, the traders expected to be given both furs and meat, since they brought very little in the way of food supplies with them. The Dunne-za who entered the trade had the benefit of more than ten thousand years of experience living in the Peace River area. They were the experts, the ones who knew the country. (Ridington and Ridington 2013:104)
In 1805, Rocky Mountain Fort was abandoned for a new fort, established to facilitate trade further westward into what was New Caledonia (Fiadmark 1985:49). Rocky Mountain Portage House was also built on the south bank of the Peace River, opposite the present town of Hudson's Hope, and situated at the end of a portage route connected to the upper Peace River, which skirted the Peace River Canyon. John Stuart and Simon Fraser documented the challenges of persuading Indigenous groups to come to the new post. As Ridington and Ridington (2013:113) and Burley, Fladmark, and Hamilton (1996) explain, the new fort was located outside Dunne-za territory, and in order to trade there, Dunne-za people had to choose between either travelling through Sekani territory (with whom hostilities were ongoing) or much further east, to Dunvegan or Fort Vermillion, in the Peace River region of present-day Alberta. According to Ridington and Ridington (2013): In the spring of 1806... L 'Homme Seul, by then the leader of his band, requested that the North West Company open another fort in Ounne-za territory at the mouth of the Pine (now Beatton) River. (p. 113)
Rocky Mountain Portage House functioned until1814. Although there were concerns on the part of Europeans in attracting trade to the new location, lists of names written in post accounts were longer than those in the Rocky Mountain Fort Journal. Individuals noted by Stuart and Fraser, such as Cadie, Vive Le Maure, the Cut Thumb Comrade, Grandbais, La Montagne de Boutte, Mari de Dents de Biche, Babillard, and Babith, belonged to several different bands, one of which was referred to as "Meadow Indians," who were said to occupy the headwaters of the Moberly River, and another whose chief was noted as being in alliance with these "Meadow Indians" (Burley, Fladmark, and Hamilton 1996:73). Competition between the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company had also become particularly heated in the early nineteenth century. Fort d'Epinette was established at the mouth of the Beatton River in 1806, renamed Fort St. John by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821 (Fiadmark 1985:62), and relocated another three times. While these observations are useful in that they clearly establish the presence of Dunneza In the Peace River region and the importance of the Peace in Dunne-za land use and trade, these observations clearly exhibit the limited understandings on the part of the explorers of the Dunne-za social and kinship structures.
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3.2
MURDER AT FORT ST. JOHN RESOURCE SCARCITY AND HOSTILE TERRITORIES
The role of the resource scarcity and competition for territory is very much a part of the post-contact history of the Dunne-za in the Peace River valley. Importantly, this time period marks a crucial shift in the fur trade economy, and the relationships, between the Dunne-za and the European traders. The following events serve to show how the Peace River remained central to the livelihood of the Dunne-za, their continued presence within the Peace River valley during this period, and how the role of the forts became a central part of the Dunne-za landscape. Competition between the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company ended in 1821, when the companies amalgamated. Two years later, the Hudson's Bay Company decided to close the Beatton River site (Fort d'Epinette/Fort St. John's) and re-open Rocky Mountain Portage House to the west (Fiadmark 1985). George Simpson, Governor of the Company, made the decision based on declining profits in the region, and because most trade occurring at the site was with the Sekani-in whose territory Rocky Mountain was understood to be based, thus enabling more efficient trade (Burley, Fladmark, and Hamilton 1996:35). At this time, there are accounts of resource scarcity in the upper Peace River valley. For example, as Burley, Fladmark, and Hamilton (1996) account:
... Hunting had severely depleted, if not eliminated, local populations of bison, while moose and elk had to be hunted at ever-increasing distances from the Beatton River site. Life on the edge of hunger was a constant at St. Johns during its final years of operation .. . (p. 94) Oral histories collected by Robin Ridington (1990) Indicate that European were challenged by resource scarcity as they were so heavily dependent on the local Beaver people:
In the early, in the late 1800s, in Peace River country (they call that Peace River 'cause Beaver Indians made peace with Cree Indians, so they call it Peace River), anyway... the Hudson's Bay Company had a trading post at Peace River. I guess by that time they were, they were starving, and our people were supporting them. Like they hunt for them. Make dry meat for
Figure 3: Fort St. John (Photo provided by WMFN)
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them. Grease. (p. 203) Aku's narrative describes a time when bison were abundant along the Peace River prairies. We know from archaeology... that the first Northwest Company traders, who established a post near the present town of Fort St. John, depended heavily on bison brought in by Dunne-za hunters. Aku passed on stories from the elders he knew when he was young, who would have experienced the fur trade in the late 18th century directly. (Ridington 2011 :21) In closing Fort St. John's, these traders encouraged Beaver groups to trade instead at Fort Dunvegan the next year. The "Fort St. John's Indians" immediately opposed the decision, becoming "quite exasperated" and "unanimously determined not to barter at Dunvegan" (HBCA D. 4/87 to. 95d in Krech 1111983:38). On the August 5, 1823, the Dunvegan journal refers to a message arriving from St. John's claiming that the "Indians were ungovernable and in a state of open warfare" (Fiadmark 1985:52). Nonetheless, the Hudson's Bay Company forged ahead with closing the post, and on October 28, 1823, clerk Guy Hughes remained at Fort St. John alone, and five days later, he was shot and killed on the riverbank. Four other HBC men were killed the next day when they were landing their canoe at the fort. The event was called the "Fort St. John massacre," committed by a "Banditte" and group of men who were never caught (Krech 1111983:38; Fladmark 1985:52). Accounts of the incident in HBC records lay blame upon the Fort St. John's Indians, who are understood to be Dunne-za or Beaver people. Ridington (1979) reports that his Dunne-za informants considered the killings a justified retaliation for the death of a native hunter whom they claimed had died mysteriously after telling Hughes he wished to return to the bush to hunt with his own band" (p. 66). He continues, saying, "[!]heir grievances indicated a feeling that the Europeans had not observed an expected reciprocity in their relations with the Dunne-za." Fladmark (1985) also writes:
The company launched an investigation of this event, but the "bandittes" were never captured. A wide range of reasons has been cited to explain the massacre, including the opinion, still stated by living Indians in the area today, that Hughes was thought to have magically or supernaturally injured a native boy... Whatever Hughes' magical capabilities, the basic reasons for the attack were probably economic, centred on the plan to close St. John's as a "restraint" measure because of generally failing resources in the area, which would have forced the "St. John Indians" to trade in territories of unfriendly neighbouring groups ... the massacre ... was one of the most violent events ever to occur in interior British Columbia involving fur-trade company personnel... (p. 52) In conclusion, the events that transpired clearly show that the Peace River valley was important to the Dunne-za. As a result of resource scarcity, combined with seemingly hostile relationships between Dunne-za and neighbouring groups, and between Dunneza and Europeans, the entire upper Peace River area of Beaver territory was abandoned by the Hudson's Bay Company until the 1860s (Burley, Fladmark, and Hamilton 1996:35). These accounts suggest that the Dunne-za asserted their occupancy, and exercised agency, within their territory at this time.
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3.3
TURN OF THE CENTURY: DISCOVERY OF GOLD AND THE LEAD-UP TO TREATY
The period between 1860 and the turn of the nineteenth century was defined by increased western expansion, settlement, and land use, including the Klondike gold rush, leading to conflicts surrounding repeated incursions by Europeans onto Dunne-za territory, and resulting in the signing of Treaty 8 and the following adhesions. The overland route to the Klondike during the gold rush at the end of the century passed through Beaver territory, and conflicts between miners and Beaver people were common. One incident at Fort St. John summarized growing tensions there in the 1890s: Barney Maurice, ... spent some time in Fort St. John. [He reported] In Fort St. John there was an Indian scare. The Beaver and Dog Rib tribes did not want the white man to come and stay in the country which they said was theirs. Some miners stole caches of food, snowshoes, etc. which were hidden in trees. On top of the hill at Fort St. John there were about seventy-five buggies, wagons and Red River carts left by the miners. The Indians put the whole works down the hill and I could see afterwards broken wagons and equipment for about six hundred feet down. All of the white men, with the exception of the doctor, myself and our partner left at night. But the Indians didn't do any harm to us. (MacGregor 1970:2001)
3.3.1 Klondikers Observations of Bear Flats In addition to the conflict that occurred in relation to the Klondiker's movement through the Peace River region, some observed the use of Bear Flats by the Dunne-za during that period. When the Klondikers who had surmounted the difficulties of the Chalmers Trail reached Fort St. John, they were grateful for the excellent pasture surrounding it. Farther up the Peace at Bear Flats they found another pasture in the open rolling country, about twenty miles wide and extending up the Halfway River. For some generations the Beaver Indians had grazed large herds of horses in this area and wintered them there. (MacGregor, 1970: 201)
Later, a story in the Ottawa Citizen described an incident in which 500 Beaver Indians. refused to let travellers pass through their territory unless a treaty was signed with them. The Government of Canada passed an Order in Council setting up a commission for Treaty No. 8, outlining the Crown's goals: On a report dated 30th November, 1898, from the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, ... that in that report it was set forth that the Commissioner of the North West Mounted Police had pointed out the desirability of steps being taken for the making of a treaty... that he had intimated that these Indians, as well as the Beaver Indians of the Peace and Nelson Rivers, and the Sicamas and Nihames Indians, were inclined to be turbulent and were liable to give trouble to isolated
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parties of miners or traders who might be regarded by the Indians as interfering with what they considered their vested rights; and that he had stated that the situation was made more difficult by the presence of the numerous travellers who had come into the country and were scattered at various points between Lesser Slave Lake and Peace River. (West Moberly First Nations 2014:21)
It is important to note that the Crown's description of the Beaver Indians is in relation to the Peace River, thereby confirming once again the primacy of the Peace River valley for the Dunne-za at the time of treaty. In response to rumours that some First Nation groups would be unwilling to sign a treaty due to apprehension over the possibility of lost hunting and fishing rights (Scott 1966), chairman of the Treaty 8 Commission David Laird wrote a letter explaining the intent of Aboriginal rights and title from the perspective of the Crown. In the text, Laird stated that the Queen or Great Mother while promising by her Commissioners to give them Reserves, which they can call their own, .. .yet the Indians will be allowed to hunt and fish all over the country... and also so long as the Indians do not molest [or] interfere with settlers, miner or travelers." (Irwin 1999 in CTQ Consultants, Ltd. 2014:23).
Laird expressed the same sentiment in his later speech at a meeting in Lesser Slave Lake, where the treaty was eventually signed in 1899: Indians have been told that if they make a treaty they will not be allowed to hunt and fish as they do now. This is not true. Indians who take treaty will be just as free to hunt and fish all over as they now are. (in Mair 1908:58)
Following the signing of the treaty, adhesions were made the next year at Peace River Landing, Vermillion, Dunvegan, Fort Chipewyan, Smith's Landing, Fond du Lac, Fort McMurray, and Wabiscow. 3.3.2 Treaty Adhesion at Hudson's Hope The formal Report of the Treaty Commissioner was submitted in 1901, including approval of the adhesions in 1900. However, this Report did not include the adhesion submitted for Hudson's Hope, the request for which was somehow not contained in the Crown's written records. In response to a letter from D.A.H. Brown, the Indian Agent in St. John, A. F. Mackenzie, Secretary Department of Indian Affairs, stated: Your letter of the 6th ultimo requesting the names of the signatories to the adhesions to Treaty 8 by the Hudson's Hope Beavers of Moberly Lake East and Saulteaux of Moberly Lake has been received. In reply I have to inform you that this information cannot be located in the files of the Department and it is possible that the documents may be in the Lesser Slave Lake Agency. In letters dated 21" March and 30, March 1914, Indian Agent H. Laird was instructed to admit these bands into treaty when making the annuity payments that year and the first pay list shows Old Man, No.1, as the Chief, and Migsedlean, No.2, and Dogie [Catherine Dokkie's husband's grandfather], No.3, as Headmen of the
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Hudson's Hope Band and William Desjarlais, No. 1, as Headman of the Moberly Lake (Saulteaux) band. It is presumed that these Indians signed the treaty for their respective bands, the number admitted in the Hudson's Hope Band being 116 and in the Saulteaux Band 34. (in CTQ Consultants, Ltd. 2014:38)
The bands were said to have made formal adhesion to the treaty in 1914, and, as a result, there was no need (according to the Department of Indian Affairs) to negotiate a new treaty; the bands would simply be paid their annuity the following year. Emphasis was then placed on surveying the land for reserves, in anticipation of large numbers of settlers arriving in the coming years (Department of Indian Affairs 1913). Goddard (1916) provides an account of Beaver (Dunne-za) territory: The Beaver Indians occupy the region of the Peace River from the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia along to the falls about forty miles below Vermilion ... Trading at For St. John are one hundred and two individuals according to the report of the Canadian Government for 1914. They hunt northward to the headwaters of the Liard River and camp as far down the Peace as the North Pine River where the first trading post for them was established... About Dunvegan are still one hundred and thirty Beaver, now settled on a reserve about fifteen miles from the river. Until a generation ago they used to Jive on both sides of the river under one chief and gathered on the flat by the river at Dunvegan for their semi-annual reunion. They hunted northward to the headwaters of Hay River where they often met Beaver from Vermilion and Fort St. John, but not the Slavey of middle and lower Hay River... They also occupied considerable territory south of Peace River... Near Vermilion are one hundred and forty-eight Beaver Indians... They live on a reserve along Paddle River, and hunt and trap westward toward Hay Lake, and north and eastward toward the Caribou Mountains. There was formerly a considerable band near Peace River Crossing for who trading posts were established about 1790. (p. 208)
The author is unaware of written accounts of the territorial boundaries of land use and occupation of the Hudson's Hope band at the time of treaty. However, members of WMFN and other Dunne-za describe their understandings of their seasonal round and where they have practiced their livelihood in and around the Peace region (See Section 4). The events surrounding the Hudson's Hope treaty adhesion were described in detail in an interview with Elizabeth Beattie, the first white woman to live there and likely provide one of the only eyewitness accounts-beyond those documented in Crown correspondence-of the adhesion and annuity payments: .. . I happened to be the first white woman that crossed over the Portage on a saddle horse. That was in 1914. Then of course we landed in Hudson's Hope put up a tent and fixed everything up ... After that we had a cabin built. We lived in the Hope for three years, then we moved up on the farm about thirty-five miles above the Hope on the river and now, we lost it [due to the building of the dam].
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[T]hey hadn't had the Treaty until that year. They were camped all over the flat for about a month before the boat came up with the Agent to give them the Treaty. The tom-toms and gambling was going on all night long. Then when the Indian Agent finally came and gave the Treaty that was something to see, the way they treated the money and stuff like that saddle horses, buying bedspreads and ribbons and stuff for blankets, horse blankets. Money sticking out of every pocket. I really enjoyed it. I was happy we were here at the time. They stayed all over the flat in front of the Hudson Bay Post towards the hill. They had tents and tepees and everything else ... They were well taken care of but the way they acted was really worth seeing. Tepees were quite good. They were pretty well here the rest of the summer after that until they had to go home again, then of course there was the trading and dickering and so you see they had money. .. It was quite an excitement that Treaty business. [1]he Indians weren't here long before we came. There were graves up on top of the hill, quite a few at that time but no whites, there hadn't been any whites up there yet. My daughter (Toulie) was the first white baby born here. She was born in 1914 ... Very few people in Ft. St. John at that time but they started to come in after that. In 1915-16 there was quite a few people in ... (Beattie 1989a in CTQ Consultants, Ltd. 2014:41)
Beattie's description is telling in a number of ways. This is understood to be one, firsthand account of the Hudson's Hope band receiving treaty annuities in and around 1914. It also describes Hudson's Hope as an established gathering place for Dunne-za ancestors, including gravesites.
3.4
CREATION AND SETTLEMENT ON RESERVES
In 1914, the Dunne-za living on both sides of the Peace River were admitted to Treaty 8 as the Hudson's Hope Band. In 1916, reserves were created on both sides of the Peace River, one at Moberly Lake and another at the Halfway River. As Dean Dokkie explained: West Moberly First Nations and Halfway First Nation were one Nation once, called the Hudson's Hope Band. The name was a reference to our nations meeting place in Hudson's Hope. We also have a cemetery in Hudson's Hope. (D. Dokkie 2013:2)
Correspondingly, Betty Willson, a West Moberly First Nations member, notes that prior to the construction of the WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon Dams in 1968 and 1980 respectively, Dunne-za Figure 4: HBC Post (Photo provided by WMFN) would gather at Hudson's Hope as part of the fur trade:
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Before the dams were built, families from Moberly Lake, Halfway River and McLeod Lake were all part of the same community. They would meet together in Hudson's Hope to trade furs at the trading post run by Old Stagee who was the store keeper then. I knew people from each of these places. But after the Dams were built, the families stopped meeting at that trading post and they dispersed to different communities in Halfway River, Moberly Lake and McLeod Lake. (B. Willson 2013:9)
Despite the creation of reserves, the Dunne-za continued to live in places throughout their territory on their seasonal round. On Apri12"d, 1962, the Fort St. John Agency described the Hudson Hope Band as: ... Originally lived on both sides of the Peace River near the present site of the village of Hudson Hope. When reserves were set aside in 1916, the group north of the Peace were allocated the Halfway Reserve No. 168, while those south were given the Moberly Lake Reserve No. 16BA. In the year 1929, the Province registered all trap lines, but because Indian Affairs Branch officials did not immediately register trap lines on behalf of Indians, many of their lines around the reserves were taken up by non-Indians. The Indian prefers the family to accompany him on the trap line in order that the women may help with the trapping and chores, and all efforts by Superintendent Galibois to get these people to settle permanently on the reserve were to no avail. As a result the Halfway Indians moved some 45 miles northwest to do their trapping. (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada 1962:1) As noted above, efforts to move Hudson Hope Band members to reserve was to "no avail". This was noted much earlier just after the time of treaty as well, around the time of admittance to Treaty 8 and adhesions in the early 1900s, the Dunne-za were described as a group of hunters who traversed both sides of the Peace River: In 1909, Inspector Conroy described the Beaver Indians living near Fort St. John as "purely hunting Indians" with very few permanent buildings: 'They have been in contact with whites- miners from across the mountains for a great many years, but have never taken to the labour of white man ... They have a few cayuses and travel on both sides of the Peace River, and generally do their hunting in the foothills of the Rockies. (leonard 1995:79) After this time, the Hudson's Hope Band (that separated and became West Moberly First Nations and Halfway River First Nation in 1971) continued to practice their seasonal round in the Peace River valley.
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4.
TRADITIONAL SEASONAL ROUND AT OR AROUND THE TIME OF TREATY
During this temporal period, I broadly focus on WMFN member's continuation of the seasonal round. From the previous two sections, details of occupation and use of the Peace River valley were discussed based on the relatively limited Information available. While it is not always possible to have exact dates regarding the traditional seasonal round in this section, there is ethnographic and oral histories that display the continuity of use of the Peace River valley for the Dunne-za way of life at or around the time of treaty.
4.1
HUNTING AND FISHING
The Dunne-za have traditionally lived a lifeway oriented around a seasonal round that involves moving through particular locations in their territory and resource use. Since the time of earliest European contact, anthropologists such as Robin Ridington and Hugh Brody have noted the shifting nature of land use within a band's home territory. As hunting and gathering people, the Dunne-za took advantage of the land's rich and varied resources by moving seasonally to areas with abundant animals and plant life. Knowing how to use these seasonal rounds has been at the heart of the Dunne-za way of life for thousands of years. (Ridington and Ridington 2013:69) One WMFN member describes the seasonal round: Well we had to go to school, when we did go to the mountain it was in the summer and then like I said we would work our way back from the mountains all the way along the Moberly River and then back into the Hay Meadows at West Moberly, and like it took two or three months, I remember, everything was being processed they went, the men would go hunting and we would stay at the camp and we would fish, haul wood and just help in the camp and the women would can and we'd have to go pick berries too and then we would move to another camp further going back towards to community and we would do something else there, you know they would do more hunting for different game, you know, and make the dry meat and then we would go to, I think probably about lake August or in August we'd go to Hay, we go to Hay Meadows and that's when they do more hunting and more dry meat, it was basically a gathering for winter supply of food. (D. Dokkie 2011:10) More generally, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (1980) described this seasonal round as involving five rough seasons: fall, early winter, late winter, early spring and summer. The pre-1960 annual round activities of the Dunne-za, within five-season model, are as follows: 1) Fall, when large bands divided into smaller hunting groups to hunt game, primarily moose and deer, for dry meat and grease during the winter;
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2) Early winter, when family groups would disperse to the winter hunting and trapping areas for fur bearing mammals; 3) Late winter, when the focus of hunting and trapping would shift towards predatory species (marten, lynx, fox, squirrel, fisher and wolverine); 4) Early spring, when winter furs were traded and the hunting focus shifted to beaver; and 5) Summer, when smaller groups would congregate into larger groups at summer camps and travel, sometimes long distances, to summer hunting, fishing and berry picking areas. (Bouchard and Kennedy Research Consultants 2011 :173) It was also noted that large ungulates remained central to the traditional seasonal round. As shown by UBCIC (1980):
The key to the region's hunting system has been its richness in ungulates, both historically and at present. The large ungulates have always been at the heart of the hunt for the people: two hundred years ago it was the bison and the moose; today it's the moose and deer. (p.30) The movements of animals and the challenges presented by the landscape of the Peace River mean that this pattern of shifting land use is an essential cultural adaptation that has allowed the Dunne-za to remain deeply rooted to a large territory for millennia. Although this seasonal round involves movement, it is a migration between key sites, remembered and maintained as cultural signifiers through story and ceremony. It is clear through the oral histories that the Peace River has been a central part of the Dunne-za seasonal round since pre-contact, the time of admittance into treaty, and continuous to the 1960s. Ridington (2011) further describes how the seasonal round continued to define Dunneza land use in the 1960s, and how trapping traditions could be traced back over the centuries through oral history:
The Dunne-za still lived a seminomadic way of life then [in the 1960s], using horses and wagons to set up summer hunting camps. Children attended day schools in the newly established reserve villages, but many adults continued to spend time on their traplines in small trapping cabins. The hunting and trapping economy was their primary source of food and income. Elders remembered stories passed down to them from the earliest days of the fur trade. I was amazed to discover an accurate oral history of events that took place in the late 18th century. (p. 20) Dunne-Za peoples would regularly travel through Hudson's Hope towards Butler Ridge during the seasonal hunting round, described in a land and occupancy study as follows:
In October some of the Halfway People would travel by horse to the Hudson's Hope trading post down the Halfway River and across to Butler Ridge to get their winter trapping supplies- a journey of 2 or 3 days. At a later date they got their outfit at one of the nearby settler's stores. At this point, there would for some
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people be a changeover in the Bands' mode of travel- from horses to dogs or foot. Part of the activities at this time of year were seeing to winter pasturage for the horses ... After the men returned from the post the family hunting groups would disperse to their winter hunting and trapping areas. (Union of BC Indian Chiefs 1980:11) In the past, caribou were described to be in abundance on both sides of the Peace River: My husband's grandfather, his name is Daniel Dokkie (they used to call him "Old Dokkie ¡~. Old Dokkie told us that in Hudson Hope by the Peace River, there used to be lots of caribou and sheep on both sides of the river. (C. Dokkie 2013:4) Andy Miller also describes hunting in the area where Williston Lake is now located: 15. Before the Dams were built, my family and I used to do a lot of hunting on the Parsnip and Finlay Rivers. Those were fun days, and the area was great for moose especially. 16. I hunted moose on the Parsnip and Finlay from about 1960 right until the flooding of the Williston Reservoir. During that time my hunting parties took at least seven or eight moose, sometimes two or even three in an outing. There were areas along the rivers that were flat. In the fall, close to their rut, the moose would come down from the hills to spend more time on the river flats, which made these flats, which are now underwater, very good moose hunting areas. If we were there early in the morning, before the moose went off to rest for the afternoon, we had a very good chance of finding moose in these river flats. 18. Another one of my favourite spots to hunt moose was on the "dead water" area on Finlay River ("Dead Water"). It is now flooded under the Williston Reservoir too. Dead Water was an area on the Finlay that was very flat with fast moving waters. This meant we could turn off the motor on the boat and drift in silence as we looked for moose along the banks ... 20. I also hunted for moose as a guide in 1964 or 1965 on the lngenika River, the Bull River, and places in that area. We also hunted moose quite often along the stretch of the Parsnip River from the Hart Highway Bridge crossing all the way down to Finlay Forks. It was very good hunting in the fall." (559. Andy Miller, Affidavit, 27 August 2013, pp 4-5. See Appendix No. 354. 560. Andy Miller, Affidavit, 27 August 2013, p. 6. See Appendix No. 354. In Havlik Metes Limited, 2014. Specific Claim of the West Moberly First Nation Concerning the Impact of the WAC Bennett Dam. P228-229) One WMFN member describes the seasonal round: Well we had to go to school, when we did go to the mountain it was in the summer and then like I said we would work our way back from the mountains all the way along the Moberly River and then back into the Hay Meadows at West Moberly, and like it took two or three months, I remember, everything was being processed they went, the men would go hunting and we would stay at the camp and we would fish, haul wood and just help in the camp and the women would can and we'd have to go pick berries too and then we would move to another
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camp further going back towards to community and we would do something else there, you know they would do more hunting for different game, you know, and make the dry meat and then we would go to, I think probably about lake August or in August we'd go to Hay, we go to Hay Meadows and that's when they do more hunting and more dry meat, it was basically a gathering for winter supply of food. (D. Dokkie 2011:1 0) WMFN members fished along the Peace River prior to the 1960s and before the two dams on the Peace River were constructed. As explained by George Desjarlais, fish were a "vital" food source that were important for sustaining West Moberly First Nations members throughout winters: Historically, before the flooding from the two Dams in the Peace River, fishing was one of the things done to prepare for the coming winter. Fish, would be caught, smoked, or dried just like moose meat, and stored for winter. Not only that, when the food supply ran out during the winter the people would go fishing in the lakes, and fish would help them make it through the winter. So fish was a vital food source ... Usually by late winter the food supply was depleted so the West Moberly First Nations' people went to the nearest lakes to fish. They lived off fish until hunting caribou in the mountains was accessible ... We, (West Moberly First Nations' people), used to fish the Williston and Dinosaur Reservoirs but we heard that the fish are tainted with mercury because of the reservoir. I heard that there are particles of mercury that can come from trees or dirt in the reservoirs, and that this taints the fish with mercury. So we (West Moberly First Nation people) do not want to take that chance that the fish are mercury tainted, so we don't fish there. (G. Desjarlais 2012:7) Ancestors were often buried wherever they were traveling at the time. The reasons lor this cultural practice is explained: And if somebody died while they were camped there, somebody said they would bury them there. Because in our traditional beliefs, they buried the people where they passed on, because they believed that's where the creator wanted their road or path to end. And if they moved them from that area, then when the creator comes to get them, they won't be able to find them. And it was only after the churches came, and over time convinced us to bury our dead at a common place, that we started using graveyards. That's how come there's First Nations burial sites everywhere. (W01 2011)
4.2
TRAPPING
Following the admittance into Treaty 8, trapping remained a core cultural activity among WMFN's Dunne-za ancestors in the Peace River valley. Up to and including the 1960s, many Dunne-za were documented practising trapping as their livelihood and as part of their way of life. Betty Willson describes trapper's cabins throughout the territory:
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WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
''There were trappers' cabins about every 10 miles down the Finlay River. Our family knew most of the trappers. Joe Pierre was as Ospika River. Alec Pierre, Sam Anderson, and Roy Rehnquist trapped between Fort Graham and Dell's Cabin. Moose used to come down to the Finlay River quite often during the Fall... There was moose crossing the Finlay River in that area all the time. When /lived at Summit Lake, but before the WAC Bennett Dam (the "Dam'J was built, I went on several hunting trips with family and friends in the Finlay Forks area and up the Finlay River. We would see moose along the banks. They were so easy to kill. We would just turn off the motor and shoot! Before the Dam was built, the Finlay River used to have some great spots for caribou to cross the mountains. I saw caribou crossing at Russell Creek, at McGraw Creek, and just below Deserter's Canyon too, just to name a few. I saw them arrive in big herds of around 40 animals. My brother Amos counted 45 one year when they crossed near our place at Dell's Cabin at Russell Creek... " (Betty Willson, Affidavit, 28 August 2013, pp. 3-4. See Appendix No. 341.) She also describes her activities as a trapper in the region: When I was about 10 years old, I began trapping squirrels and weasels. I used to walk from Del's Cabin [25 miles south of Fort Ware on the bank of the Finaly River] back down to a place we called "Big Creek" (also known as Del Cree) and down that way to Charlie Oval's cabin, where I would stay the night and return home in the morning. I would hunt squirrels and rabbits with a 22, and set snares and traps for squirrels, rabbits, and weasels, and occasionally I would trap mink and martin too. I stayed there at Charlie Oval's place 100 times or so, trapping and hunting like this. (Betty Willson, Affidavit, 28 August 2013, pp. 3-4. See Appendix No. 341.) Dean Dokkie also describes his trapping south of the Peace River: Well my grandfather (Fred Courtoreille) probably would have because he had a trapline on the south side of the Peace River, so it would have been, like around, I think it's across Lynx Creek, and he would of have, he had an area there, and he sold it, after [sounds like "he had a stroke '1 to a guy named [sounds like "Vick Goldie '1 who now has a trapline, so he would have used that area, my father probably would have used that area. (D. Dokkie, 2011: 32) The federal government also notes the importance and longstanding nature of trapping. In the 1962 testimony of R. Kendall, a Field Officer representing the Department of Indian Affairs, to A. F. Paget, Comptroller of Water Rights, as he described the potential loss of livelihoods, trap lines, trapping areas, and cabins along the Peace River and its associated tributaries from flooding: Loss of the age-old pursuit of trapping and hunting either wholly or in part, constitutes a real problem to those who follow this vocation. While trap lines encompass many square miles, flooding usually annexes the productive low-lying areas including trails, trap sets and in many cases, cabins.
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Older trappers, among them women, set in their ways and unskilled in present day crafts, are the main victims of this proposed change. Advancing and receding lake levels force fur-bearers -particularly aquatic animals - to forsake their normal range. They easily become victims of predators or starvation. Linked together, this change of events quickly leads to the demise of a trapping fraternity. It seems only reasonable, therefore, to expect compensation for the loss of a resource use which has been a dominant factor in the lives of the Indian people in question since time immemorial. (Province of British Columbia 1962:99) The Fort St. John Agency document from 1962 also identifies trapping in the Fort St. John area, and in which R. Kendall hypothesises that low fur prices and industrial development were having an impact on trapping success. Nonetheless, Kendall suggested that trapping should be encouraged in the area: The Fort St. John area which is strictly bush and muskeg, presents a somewhat different picture [from Pouce Coupe]. Here fur-bearing animals are in relative abundance. Trapping should be encouraged in this area, and possibly a marketing system set up in order that the Indians might receive a fair return on their fur. (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada 1962:4)
4.3
TRAILS AND TRAVEL ROUTES
Many land- (e.g., foot, horse, wagon) and water-based trails (e.g., boat and also portage) are known to have crossed or followed the Peace River (many of which were in use before the signing of Treaty until disrupted by the construction of the WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon Dams). Trails and routes facilitated the seasonal rounds of the Dunne-za by linking cabins and hunting and fishing sites (Bouchard and Kennedy Research Consultants 2011 ). In fact, destinations linked with the Peace River Valley were as far afield as Cache Creek, "the upper Kiskatinaw, Pine and Moberly rivers, [... ] Dawson Creek, Pouce Coupe and Grande Prairie" (Bouchard and Kennedy Research Consultants 2011 :32). Trails also knitted communities and families together that were spread north and south of the Peace River Valley. The older generation spoke about people from the different communities they used to regularly cross in their travels, but now with the exception of maybe Moberly south of the Peace, those trails are under the "Big Water" (that is how they referred to it). Halfway became cut off until roads were made, but the people from Halfway still visit McLeod Lake. Some of them even travelled up to lngenika because a lot of their distant relatives were up there too. (G. Desjarlais 20 12:9) Hudson's Hope Is notable for how frequently it is mentioned and recognised as a travel destination and transition point for the Dunne-za as they moved across the land, sometimes via the Peace River. For instance, Betty Willson, who was born in 1928, recounts some of the oral history around Hudson's Hope in her signed affidavit: The portage trail at the Peace River Canyon, would take people from McLeod Lake to Halfway River, and they could use it to meet in Hudson's Hope. Everyone I spoke to in McLeod Lake knew about that trail - the same people that I spoke to
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about my mother. Tom Cook and the Chingee family also told me about it. (B. Willson 2013:9) The affidavit of Dean Dokkie, of the West Moberly First Nations, also discusses travelling from south of the Peace River to Hudson's Hope via wagon trail in the 1950s. Before I started school, around mid to late 1950's, my family and the Garbitt family travelled from Moberly to Hudson's Hope on a wagon trail. It took us approximately a day and a half, which was only one way. I remember that the wagon got stuck just before we arrived at the third Cameron Lake, and it took a few hours to get unstuck. (D. Dokkie 2013:6) An affidavit of Catherine Dokkie of the West Moberly First Nations also corroborates the existence of Peace River crossings used by Beaver peoples between Hudson's Hope and Taylor: Old Dokkie also talked about going down the shore of the Peace River from Hudson Hope and then cut across to go to Halfway where he would stay for a while and then he married a woman from there. He talked about travelling all over the place to visit lngenika, Fort Ware and McLeod Lake. When Old Dokkie and the Beaver people from the south side of the Peace River wanted to go to the north side of the river and visit the Beaver people there (the Halfway people), they used to cross at a shallow spot in the Peace River. This crossing was located further downstream from Lynx Creek, about halfway between Hudson Hope and Taylor
Figure 5: View from old Hudson's Hope trail (Photo credit: Firelight)
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Flat. (C. Dokkie 2013:7) Many of the towns and cities around the Peace River Valley may have, in the past, functioned as Dunne-za stops that were used while travelling and hunting. Sometimes someone would get a moose. We would eat a little and then it would be gone. Then we would move around, move from place to place until fall time. In July and August we would walk from Moberly Lake to Fort St. John to Dawson Creek, all over the places where the big towns are now, making drymeat. That's how far we went for moose. Sometimes we made the round-trip from Doig River to Moberly Lake in ten days. (Mary Pouce-Coupe in Ridington 1990:23) The Peace River itself was also a noted travel route for WMFN, at least as far east as Taylor and moving west to Finlay Forks. Before the Dams, every summer and every spring, Beaver people would meet. They met often in the Montney area. People from Prophet River, Halfway River, Blueberry River, Doig River, and the other Beaver communities would gather together. They would use the rivers to travel. The rivers were their highways. Before the Dams, First Nation hunters used to travel from Taylor to Finlay Forks along the Peace River. They would fish, hunt, and trap all along that route. (W. Attachie 2013:2) Elder George Desjarlais from West Moberly First Nations describes how a number of communities relied on the Peace River, both above and below the current WAC Bennett Dam site, for travel and connectivity. Before the flooding, everybody, the West Moberly People, the people from McLeod Lake, all of us, used to use the Upper Peace River to access different areas. Everybody used corridors to come back and forth. The people from McLeod Lake used to come across the mountain to come visit or trade, and the people from the East side of the Rockies they would use corridors, river corridors, whichever was the best way to travel. The stories that were told to me say that the West Moberly people used the Pine River and Peace River corridor (which is now the Peace Reach). The older generation spoke about people from the different communities they used to regularly cross in their travels, but now with the exception of maybe Moberly south of the Peace, those trails are under the "Big Water" (that is how they referred to it). Halfway became cut off until roads were made, but the people from Halfway still visit McLeod Lake. Some of them even travelled up to lngenika because a lot of their distant relatives were up there too. (G. Desjarlais 2012:9) The expansive travel routes of the Dunne-za are well documented. The extensive territory connected by trails throughout the Peace River valley region, and the presence of numerous historical trails and water routes used by Dunne-za, are telling of the significance of the Peace River valley to not only practicing the traditional seasonal round, but connecting communities and families together over long distances
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4.4
BEAR fLATS
Bear Flats has been a significant place from before treaty and continued to be a central part in the Dunne-za cultural landscape. During this time, Bear Flats continued to be a gathering place for multiple families, as well as a spiritual place for dreamers and prophets. As Liza Wolf explains: They saying when they came back to guide and they said the waters all over the place, you could see moose and bear, everything that's floating around when the water back up they would drown and those are the moose and bears and grizzly bear habitat where they're hunting, goats, everything, and that's the same thing what's going to happen here, when they are going to built this Site C Dam, that's the livelihood of First Nation's, before Oil and [unclear] before Prophet River First Nation the old people they always visit up here, they said my dad is a dreamer, everybody respect him, everybody wants to hear what he had to say, to look into the future and how... and where they gather, why they're gathering a Bear Flat is because they have to tie the moose, they catch a lot of moose in there quite a few people, people from Doig, people from Halfway, everybody gather. When Fred Jumbie recognized that, that Bear Flat, he said he must be around five or six years old and at that time of the gathering at Bear Flat, he said, your dad can sing in just about a [unclear]. And after that, everybody gather all over the place, to go hunting for the fall... for the winter, making dry meat, you name it. Everything from the whistles down to porcupine, they dry those stuff to survive in the winter time because the wintertime sometimes it's bad weather and they can't hunt and also they survive on fish and this Charlie Lake here, before must be around 17 or 1800's, this is the survival of the First Nation {unclear} for the fish. And why, they said, this is grandpa Jumbie, the one that's telling us about this, they survived, when he was a
Figure 6: Bear Flats (Photo Credit: Firelight)
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little boy, he remembered that people camped in there, in the winter, in the winter survival they said they didn't, it's too cold to kill moose, and they survived by fish, when it's winter they eat fish. (Wolf 2011 :3) Gatherings at Bear Flats today by the Dunne-za are an extension of their history in that place. As one WMFN member articulates, Bear Flats is both an archaeologically rich site and a place of continued gatherings by elders: {Bear flats] That's a known gathering place, Bear Flats. That is an actually big gathering site ... It's hard to say, but up in here, we have an elders gathering here and we had an archaeologist and they did a dig, so go into the bush randomly and pick a spot randomly. And wherever they pick a spot they find artifacts. So this whole area, it's all over the place. (WOB 2011) Before the Williston Reservoir came in, there was a whole network of trails, campsites, meeting, and gathering spots. The Dunne-za were nomadic, they moved around in small family groups through the area, and at certain times of the year they would all come together and gather. Bear Flats is another one. We still use Bear Flats to this day down there on that. And there's not very many spots along the river anymore that we get to do that. (W08 2018) I've heard, like before my time but I heard that Bear Flats was a main gathering area in the past for like even I think Prophet River has oral history of coming to gatherings at Bear Flats. (W17 20 18)
The Buffalo Jump (see Figure 1: Map of Critical Areas) is noted in the pre-contact section of this report as well as in Section 6. The continuity of use of these cliffs for hunting purposes in the Bear Flat area is key when situating the importance of the area to the Dunne-za.
4.5
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FORT
The Rocky Mountain Fort Critical Area (Figure One, which includes Hudson's Hope, is a highly important cultural centre for the WMFN, historically and at present. The Rocky Mountain Fort area, recognised as an established meeting place between Dunne-za communities, analogous to Bear Flats and Canoe in the Bush (Halfway), people would congregate at Hudson's Hope in the summer. Once there, as one West Moberly member explains, elders and dreamers would discuss and direct where to hunt: That was the way of the Dunne-za people was in certain times of year they would have big gatherings. Hudson Hope is another place that was a traditional gathering place of the Dunne-za Beaver Indian people, right. So there was different places where they would gather, and you know they'd go out into their family hunting areas, but they would meet at these places and discuss amongst the elders, you know the dreamers would say, "Well, you know I think our luck is going to be up there hunting this year," and so they would, one family would go up that route, follow a creek and that's the way I was told anyway, that they used
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to make their decisions about how they, where they would go to harvest and that kind of thing. (W17 2011) Hudson's Hope was a gathering spot. When the Hudson's Bay Company came through there, they ran into First Nations that were camped there. And eve!}' year they would come down there and camp there and they would come up and trade, they would buy furs and stuff like that... 0/'108 2018) My dad traps along the Peace River. I used to remember. I go with him. And then he's got a crossing there in the wintertime where he used to go and trade meat for groceries with his friends. 0/'116 2011) A traditional land use study conducted by The Union of BC Indian Chiefs in 1980 situates Hudson's Hope in the seasonal round, describing how people from Halfway would make their way to the Hudson's Hope trading post to obtain trapping supplies. Describing pre-1960s seasonal round] In October some of the Halfway People would travel by horse to the Hudson's Hope trading post down the Halfway River and across to Butler Ridge to get their winter trapping supplies- a journey of 2 or 3 days. At a later date they got their outfit at one of the nearby settler's stores. At this point there would for some people be a changeover in the Bands' mode of travel-- from horses to dogs or foot. Part of the activities at this time of year were seeing to winter pasturage for the horses ... After the men returned from the post the family hunting groups would disperse to their winter hunting and trapping areas. (Union of BC Indian Chiefs 1980:11) This pattern of movement to Hudson's Hope to trade and Vesta Annabelle Gething who lived there beginning in 1922 similarly detailed meeting in an account. VG: [There were] A Jot of Indians here, then, remember. lnt: And do you remember specifically if there were any Indians living here in Hudson's Hope? VG: No they didn't five in Hudson's Hope, but they summered here. They would have summer camps. And they would have real tepees in those days, you know. lnt: And then in the wintertime they would be off gaming? VG: Yes they would be out to, you know, trapping. That's how they lived, you know, trapping, which they would trade at the Hudson's Bay. Of course, there was an Indian settlement at Moberly Lake and they used to come here a lot. lnt: They'd come for their mail and supplies? Or? VG: Indians never got mail, but they would come to the Hudson's Bay to buy, and to self their fur, and to buy things." (Vesta Gething 1922 in Hudons Hope Historical Society 1981)
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As a meeting and trading point, many trails and routes emanate from and lead to Hudson's Hope. Contemporary WMFN recalled travelling to Hudson's hope via wagon (e.g., following a path where Highway 29 now sits) up to the 1960s. [Crossing to Hudson's Hope] So this road used to be the road to Hudson Hope. They used to all have to go through there and then cross. There was a ferry there. Gerry Hunter told me that the guys from Halfway used to cross somewhere right here on horses and they used to go to West Moberly to fool around. He said him and a bunch of young guys from Halfway used to go across there on horses and yeah I'm assuming it's a crossing but I don't know. They went to Moberly Lake... That's exactly what I guess my point is, is it became a ferry crossing but it was already a trail before the ferry crossing and I wonder when I hear these stories about the rocks, a lot of the spiritual stories of the river, you know they were traveling through there. ry.J17 201 8) Other WMFN remember crossing the Peace River at Hudson's Hope by boat, using horses, or traversing the ice in the winter. In the wintertime we used the river, the ice on the river, as a bridge. Ever since then [completion of WAC Bennett Dam] it hasn't iced up. And so we used to cross the river anywhere. Our main trails, one of them leads to here, across. I remember coming here as a kid, coming to the Hudson's Hope for a one-day rodeo, and we used to cross the river down here, just up here by-- down below the museum, Maurice Creek. Sometimes they had a boat. Sometimes they had a ferry to cross everybody. We used to camp on the ather side of the river, a great big camp. All for a one-day rodeo, but it was fun. (George Desjarlais in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013c:55) Oh, we used to cross over there [riding horses 1:00:20]. It used to be really slippery. The rocks are slippery... There was a pack trail coming up this way, because these people use it here. These people used to go to Hudson Hope, and they only had a pack trail. But later on, there is a wagon road. It goes through this bush here. Right here just above my house where the [inaudible 1:00:45] is. Right there there's a wagon road going right to Hudson Hope. 0/'116 2011) Where the ferry crossing is was an area that before Hudson's Hope was there, people would go there and that was a point that they could cross the river. (W08 2018) This area was also used by WMFN as a gathering place for camping during the Hudson's Hope rodeo.
We used to cross the river anywhere. Our main trails, one of them leads to here, across. I remember coming here as a kid, coming to the Hudson's Hope for a oneday rodeo, and we used to cross the river down here, just up here by -- down below the museum, Maurice Creek. Sometimes they had a boat. Sometimes they had a ferry to cross everybody. We used to camp on the other side of the river, a great big camp. All for a one-day rodeo, but it was fun. George Desjarlais in
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Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013c:55)
4.6
CONCLUSIONS
After reviewing and analysing the literature pertaining to WMFN's Dunne-za ancestors at or around admittance to Treaty 8, I can conclude that the Peace River valley was of cultural significance to Dunne-za. Sources included available oral histories, archival information, including explorer's journal and government correspondence. Within this review, the cultural significance of the Peace River valley to WMFN's Dunne-za ancestors is shown through observations and stories of Dunne-za's ancestors' occupation and use of the Peace River valley. These include descriptions of oral histories of particular places in the Peace River, European observations of occupation of the Peace River valley, including long-term gathering places with burial sites; and the Dunne-za assertion of territory and exercising agency within the Peace River. After treaty admittance, the Hudson's Hope Band (including WMFN) and other Dunneza continued to use the Peace River valley for traditional purposes, including hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and spirituality. The use of the river valley as a core part of the network of travels and travelways remained an integral part of WMFN's Dunne-za ancestors' way of life.
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5. THE WAC BENNETT DAM AND THE PEACE CANYON DAM The following section overviews the socio-cultural effects which members of the Hudson's Hope Indian Band or West Moberly First Nations have ex perienced or continue to experience as a result of the construction of the WAC Bennett dam and the Peace Canyon dam. This section is concentrated on the traditional seasonal round, Including hunting, trapping , fishing, plant gathering and medicines, gathering places, trails and travel routes, and burial sites. Details of Dunne-za historical use is described in Sections 2, 3 and 4, and their continued use of the Peace River valley is described In Section 6. Most of the impacts in this section are described in context of the WAC Bennett Dam, or in the context of the two dams.
5.1
IMPACTS TO HUNTING, FISHING, AND GATHERING
Prior to the construction of the WAC Bennett Dam in the 1960s, Dunne-za people recall large numbers of caribou migrating across the Peace River, above the dam's present location. As observed by Clarence Willson, a member of West Moberly First Nations, caribou migration occurred during winter freeze up or when the river was low. Written historical records also show that caribou hunting, centred on the caribou mig ration route across the Peace River, was a critical part of the Dunne-Za seasonal round (Aasen 2009:9; Havlik Metes Limited 2014:226). However, members of the West Moberly First Nations say that the caribou migration route, and, correspondingly, their ability to hunt caribou, w as heavily impacted by the construction of the WAC Bennett Dam: The Reservoir cut off the migratory route of the caribou and the Moberly Herd is now isolated. The Graham Herd, the Moberly Herd, the Burnt Pine Herd, all used to intermingle and travel back and forth. The Graham Herd used to cross the Peace River and come south. In some places, the caribou would cross the Peace River on the ice at certain times of the year, or when the river was really low. However, the Williston Reservoir cut off and fragmented the caribou 's migratory route to a point where the caribou cannot cross. (Wil lson 2013:226) The loss of caribou, following the construction of the WAC Bennett Dam, is confirmed by George Desjarlais, a member of the West Moberly First Nations. For the most part, I think the biggest impact that I have had in my life is the WAC Bennett Dam ... At first there was a big influx of animals because they were displaced from the Peace corridor .. . But it was just a little bit later that we started to notice that, especially when we started going into the mountain areas, that we started to notice there was not that much caribou anymore and it was basically around that time, late 70's, something /Ike that, that the elders told us that, you know because of the depletion of the caribou, we weren't to hunt them anymore. (Desjarlais 2011 :4)
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In addition to changes in caribou migration patterns, similar observations have been made about mountain goats and sheep. Dean Dokkie, a member of the West Moberly First Nation, describes this change since the construction of the WAC Bennett Dam, and its effect on his family:
When I was little, we would eat goat in the fall. I remember that having goat was like having turkey at Christmas time. It was something special that you had as a seasonal meal. The last time my father brought back goat was when I was approximately six years old. As far as I know, there are no goats or sheep south of the Williston Reservoir anymore. After the WAC Bennett Dam was put in, the hunting and game decreased substantially in the area. I remember my father saying there were no goats or sheep here anymore because of the WAC Bennett Dam. My Family does not hunt goats today because there are none. (D. Dokkie 2 013:3) Many members of West Moberly First Nations discuss the former use- and loss- of a caribou migration site in the Peace River region prior to the WAC Bennett Dam. For example:
If there wasn't a dam there, we would've had caribou and everything migrating. Because we used to, before the dam was there. And that's how we got caribou down by town because they migrated- caribou, sheep. We'd have it all, I bet you, if that wasn't there." (W09 2011) Many fishing locations that the WMFN relied on prior to the 1960s are located where the Williston Lake reservoir is today. In her 2013 affidavit, Betty Willson explains that she used to fish and hunt in areas such as Russell Creek, Paul River and Big Slough.
Many of our precious fishing areas were destroyed by the Williston Reservoir. I went back after the Bennett Dam to visit places where I fished and hunted as a child, like Russell Creek, Paul River and Big Slough. The Reservoir was so high you could barely recognize them. The destruction was unbelievable. I went to Factor Ross Creek after the Reservoir was filled and it was unrecognizable. The area had been destroyed. The same is true for Fort Graham; there is just a giant lake there now, with a giant mess of logjams that nobody has bothered to clean up. All the streams and rivers we fished in near Deserter's Canyon, Pine Lake, and Sucker Lake were all destroyed by the flooded Reservoir as well. (B. Willson 2013:1 0) Since the flooding of the dams, many WMFN members worry about the decline in quality of fish and their increased risk for contamination. As explained by several community members, the risk of consuming contaminated- or unhealthy- fish has lead them to reduce and restrict their consumption of fish from the area . ... 'Site B' {Peace Canyon Dam] is also situated in our traditional territory. It flooded an area now called Dinosaur Lake. It is a popular fishing spot but we are told to not eat the fish because mercury levels are so high in fish tissue they may cause health problems. Environmental studies have shown that flooding
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vegetation causes a by-product of mercury to be produced by other organisms. The fish cannot get rid of this ... (Roland Willson in Paddle for the Peace 2006:85)
I also learned that the fish in the Williston water system were contaminated with mercury, this whole system is contaminated. This really affected our use of the area. Just knowing that you cannot eat the fish turns you off from using the area. A lot of people in my family do not fish at Williston anymore. (C. Willson 2013:3) A WMFN member explained that they avoid fishing in any tributaries connected to the WAC Bennett Dam due to concerns over contamination. I don't eat fish from WAC Bennett Reservoir or tributaries, because the mercury is in the fish and you don't know which ones have it and which ones don't and how much they do and how much they don't. So, it impacts me. (W17 2018) For George Desjarlais, the increased risk of fish contamination from the WAC Bennett Dam and Peace Canyon Dam has led him to avoid fishing in the area. So, we do not want to take that chance that they are mercury tainted, so we don't fish there, so that's basically one of the rights that we have... to fish, that we've lost because of that. Now we don't know if we fish below the WAC Bennett dam or the Peace Canyon dam, if the fish are still tainted with mercury... (Desjarlais 2011 :8) For WMFN, fish are important for both subsistence and cultural purposes. Elder Zepheria Isadore succinctly describes the consequence of this change for elders, who have historically depended on fish for survival. Now we can't even go fishing. Where are we going to go fishing? Now when we get our fish, they tell us that, oh, there's mercury in the fish, you can't eat it. We're elder. We live on the fish. (Zepheria Isadore in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013c:44) Prior to the construction of the WAC Bennett Dam, many Dunne-Za people had trap lines that extended along the Peace River valley, from as far west as the Finlayson Forks to eastwardly down river past Fort St. John. Based on the data reviewed in this section and elsewhere in the report, it is apparent that when the Williston Reservoir was flooded in the late 1960s, many WMFN people lost their trap lines, and subsequently, their ability to use certain areas of their traditional territory for trapping activities. Betty Willson describes this: 51 . ... The trappers could no longer navigate along the river in their riverboats. The beaver creeks were flooded. The Reservoir swallowed up all those trapping cabins along the Finlay and put an end to that lifestyle. The beaver creeks were flooded. The Reservoir swallowed up all those trapping cabins along the Finlay and put an end to that lifestyle." (Betty Willson, Affidavit, 28 August 2013, pp. 3-4. See Appendix No. 341.)
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Since the construction of the WAC Bennett Dam and the Peace Canyon Dam, a number of areas that the WMFN relied on for collecting plants have also been destroyed. According to Bruce Miller, the dams greatly affected traditional WMFN practices, such as berry picking. The dams really erased many of the traditional practices that people used to survive and depend on. The elders always went back to the lakes and relied on traditional foods and practices. Now the fish contain mercury, families were relocated, and even berry picking was messed up. (Miller 2013:4) Catherine Dokkie, a WMFN member, also confirms that gathering areas along the Peace River were impacted by the two dams. She explains that when medicines are disturbed, they lose their ability to heal, and this is what happened with the construction of the WAC Bennett Dam and Peace Canyon Dam. You have to collect medicine from places where it has not been disturbed. It has to come from a place where no people have been walking through, or quads running all over the place putting gas on the medicine. There is no power in medicine that comes from a place that has been disturbed. It will not heal. Good medicine has to come from virgin forest where nobody has ever disturbed the ground. Because of new things, especially the dams, most of our medicines that we used to gather along the river are gone. (C. Dokkie 2013:3)
5.2
IMPACTS TO TRAILS AND TRAVEL ROUTES
Many land- (e.g., foot, horse, wagon) and water-based trails (e.g., boat and also portage) are known to have crossed or followed the Peace River (many of which were in use before admitting of Treaty until disrupted or destroyed by the construction of the WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon Dams). Trails and routes facilitated the seasonal rounds of the Dunne-za by linking cabins and hunting and fishing sites (Bouchard and Kennedy, 2011). In fact, destinations linked with the Peace River Valley were as far afield as Cache Creek, "the upper Kiskatinaw, Pine and Moberly rivers, [... ] Dawson Creek, Pouce Coupe and Grande Prairie" (Bouchard and Kennedy Research Consultants 2011 :32). Trails also knitted communities and families together that were spread north and south of the Peace River Valley. Before the Williston Reservoir came in, there was a whole network of trails, campsites, meeting gathering spots ... They moved around in small family groups through the area, and at certain times of the year they would all come together and gather. Bear Flats is another one. We still use Bear Flats to this day down there on that. And there's not very many spots along the river anymore that we get to do that. Back before they flooded the reservoir, Williston Reservoir, there was Fort Graham, Fort Ware, lngenika, McLeod Lake, would all use the rivers and the trails along the river networks. Prophet River would come down from where they were. There's trails. They would go from Prophet River across the mountains over to where Fort Ware is and visit their family there. (WOB 2011) Catherine Dokkie remarks on the extent of effect that the WAC Bennett Dam had on the WMFN's means of travel and ability to access important places.
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I remember the wagon trail being built now known as Highway 29 or Don Phillips Way into a road and paved in the 1960s, after the WAC Bennett Dam was built. The paved road impacted the community by opening up the area and changing what people did on the land. [...]More non-First Nation people came to hunt in the area. This made game more competitive for our people. The logging operations also opened up areas that we normally used as a food source. [ ...]I would not want to see another dam in this area. I do not want to see any more acreage under water, because we have already lost so much of our land, our history and our culture. The Dams and the reservoirs have changed where we go and how we go there. (C. Dokkie 2013:42) The Peace River was a crucial means of transportation and connectivity between neighbouring communities. For some community members, the construction of the two dams marked a major shift in their ability to connect and interact with other communities. Clarence Willson explains in his sworn affidavit how the flooded reservoirs have contributed to the decline in interactions between communities.
/look at the whole reservoir as a social barrier. All of the native people used to stay connected by travelling and walking up and down the river. They would visit each other. My mother told me one time about how my grandmother heard that Chief Dokkle had passed away. Someone from Halfway actually walked all the way up to my grandmother's place on the Finlay River to tell her of Chief Dokkie's passing. There were also paths that followed along the river that many people travelled on. In the winter, people would travel from Moberly Lake by dogsled to where my grandmother and grandfather were at Russell Creek. Around 1938, my mother's half-brother Sam Dokkie, got out of residential school and travelled from Hudson Hope to Russell Creek with a mail sleigh pulled by a dog team. My mother had nine siblings, all of them used to travel the trails up and down the river before it became a reservoir. There used to be networks and people stayed connected. Now the people are more segregated and there is not nearly the same community interaction as there was before the dams. (C. Willson 2012:37) Based on WMFN member's testimony and oral history of the Peace River valley, it is evident that the WAC Bennett Dam affected their ability to use historical trails and traditional travel routes in the Peace River valley. This not only impacted their ability to move across the landscape, but had tangible socio-cultural impacts as well, including kinship and relational ties to other communities in the region. Safety concerns about travelling on Williston Lake arose when trees that were submerged by the flooding started to dislodge and to shoot up through the lake.
I remember back in the, in and around the 80s, they, there used to be trees that shot up like missiles from way down below in the Williston Reservoir; because instead of actually waiting for the companies to - the logging companies to finish logging out the flood zone, they took D-9 cats, hooked a big freaking chain with loops like this big around, about 1OOm from each other and just walked through the bush. You know, walked through the bush like this and this chain came along and just levelled the forest. After time, the water and turbulent, the roots slowly
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washed away and up come a tree like a freaking guarded missile from about 1000 feet down, maybe more. (WO 1 2011) Today, there are added concerns about the safety of travel along the river, largely due to fluctuating water levels as a result of water release from the two reservoirs. Chief Roland Willson explains how operator-controlled river levels have impeded river travel below the Peace Canyon Dam. The shorelines along both sides of the river can fluctuate up to ten feet at any -any time during the day if there's a call for demand. So our ability to access the river is greatly hampered by this. We can't camp along the river because of that. Have to be very careful with your boats if you're canoeing or boating on the river. If you fail to recognize this and you tie your boat up --or don't tie your boat up in the morning, you're stranded, or you're-- yeah, you're stranded with no boat, or you're stranded with your boat way upon the water on the banks. (Roland Willson in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013:25)
5.3
IMPACTS TO BURIAL SITES
Several WMFN members have knowledge of their ancestor's burial sites along the upper part of Peace River valley, which are now covered by the Williston Lake reservoir. All of our gravesites, all of our areas of gathering that were in the Williston Reservoir inundation zone are gone now, and it's affected everything. It's affected the animals, it's affected our relationships with our sister communities because we can't come together anymore. (WOB 2011) Dean Dokkie also described the "irreplaceable" impact of losing of burial sites to the Williston Lake reservoir flooding. I have been told that there are several burial sites that were flooded and are now underneath the Williston Reservoir. The loss of a graveyard us irreplaceable. You cannot visit a grave when the grave is under water. Your ancestors are gone which means that a part of your history is gone. (D. Dokkie 2013:273) In an Oral History Project conducted by the Treaty 8 Tribal Association, several members of the West Moberly First Nations shared their knowledge of burial sitesboth of their own ancestors and of other family groups- in the Peace River valley. The consequential loss of those burial sites from the WAC Bennett Dam is poignantly captured in the quote below. How they {fsay Keh First Nations] were impacted, and what had happened in the time of the flooding, and what happened after the flooding? It was just not a good thing that happened; their whole settlement was flooded, including their graveyards. I guess the water was rising and they didn't know what was happening, that is how I recall it. I don't know it's just a devastating thing to be flooded out and not know. If it was a natural catastrophe that's one thing but when it's manmade that's something totally different. I mean it changed their way of life,
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it changed everything that they do, and they can never get that back, it doesn't matter what hydro does, in terms of, here's a new settlement here's money, I mean part of their history, part of their, you know even their gravesites, how do you replace that? How do you change that? I mean your ancestors are - it's gone. You can't go visit a grave if it's under water. You know, how do you remember them? I couldn't fathom that. I mean their gravesites, old gravesites and people that are a part of our history and maybe I don't know them, but the fact that it's part of our history and they are our ancestors that are underwater (D. Dokkie
2011:19)
5.4
CONCLUSIONS
The construction of the WAC Bennett Dam and the Peace Canyon dam marked a notable shift in the Dunne-za people's ability to use, and means of using, historical trails and travel routes. It is in my opinion that the two dams have had high socio-cultural impacts on WMFN members' ability to use certain sections of the Peace River valley, particularly in places that are now covered by the Williston Lake reservoir and Peace Canyon reservoir. In reviewing the available information, it is shown that the dams negatively impacted WMFN's ability to hunt ungulates, including moose and caribou, in the region. The dams also negatively impacted fishing in the Peace River valley, and have led to many WMFN members avoidance of consuming fish from the region. WMFN also noted the impact the dams had on their medicine and food plant harvesting in the area. Rapidly varying water levels caused by on-going power generation at the dam sites provides challenges tor safe use and enjoyment of the reservoirs that in my opinion would affect the frequency of use tor all users and the ability of elders, or the young to be present in the environment due to physical challenges of managing equipment and uncertain access. Other socio-cultural impacts include the disconnection of communities and families through the lack of connectivity and destroyed travel routes; and the psychosocial impacts such as the ability to peacefully enjoy the land.
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6.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PEACE RIVER TO
WMFN TODAY 6.1
INTRODUCTION
The Traditional Use Study (TUS) considers site- specific and qualitative values or data pertaining to thirteen Critical Areas along and adjacent to the Peace River. This study was conducted in order to inform conclusions regarding the cultural significance of the Peace River valley to WMFN at present.
6.1.1 TUS Organization I was asked to analyze site-specific and qualitative values pertaining to the Peace River, with a specific focus on a set of Critical Areas identified by WMFN. The results of this analysis are organized as follows: â&#x20AC;˘
Section 6.2.1 presents an overview of qualitative values that demonstrate the general importance of the Peace River to WMFN people. Section 6.2.2 presents the analysis of site-specific and qualitative values from the following Critical Areas, Upstream of Eagle Island; Buffalo Jump; Bear Flats; Canoe in the Bush (Halfway); Camp with animal crossing; Farrell Creek to The Gates; Lynx Creek; Rocky Mountain Fort area; Dreamer's Island; Peace-Moberly Tract (Transmission Corridor); Trappers Lake Area; Sucker Lake; Islands and Old Growth Forests.
6.2
WMFN
UsE AND VALUES IN THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
6.2.1 The Peace River- General Based on a review of the available data, the Peace River and Peace River Valley continue to define WMFN and their culture, just as they have for hundreds of years. The qualitative values reviewed below demonstrate the fundamental importance of this place to the WMFN. As described by a West Moberly First Nation member, the origin of the place name for the Peace River shows the depth of the history and the meaning of that history to WMFN identity. The Peace River's called the Peace River because the Dunne-za and the Cree fought all along the Peace River, and hundreds of years ago the two of them got together and made a peace treaty amongst themselves to stop fighting. And they named it- There's a bunch of different names. I've heard It called Unchaga and other names, and it was named that because it's the place where peace was made. That's how the Peace River got the name. So, when you look at that, the Peace River was an integral--is an integral piece of who we are. You know, we're connected to it. Everything that we 've done evolves around that major river that
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flows right through the heart of our territory. And we still use it to this day. (W08 2018) Areas along the Peace River have long served as gathering places for Dunne-za people, and the social and spiritual importance of these gatherings are a vital part of Dunne-za culture.
We are sharing everything we are with people here. The gathering-the concept of the gatherings-coming together at the Halfway, bringing everybody down the Bear Flats, and having everybody come to Bear Flats and eat a meal. We have a prayer when we start, we have a prayer when we end, and then we have a social gathering before and at the end of it. (W08 2018) [Interviewer: These gatherings that you mentioned where people would come together they'd have these relations, did people come together in the Peace River Valley?] Yeah, periodically at different locations. A Jot of times it just happened to be a chance meeting of groups because people travelled in family groups. They went on their seasonal rounds and family groups. They weren't necessarily, you know, the whole Beaver nation wasn't exactly all in one big group. They were in different family groups. Mind you, it looked like a whole freaking tribe because they had, you know, anywhere from about 10 to 15 kids each and if there was two families with that many kids, I mean it wit/look like a tribe. And then those kids having kids made it look even bigger, you know? But yeah they would and periodically sometimes they would maybe in the springtime they would plan to come together. And to do a ceremony. ... [Spring gatherings] Basically it was a thank you ceremony for being, being given another year. To them, New Years was when the leaves came out in the spring. That was new years and they celebrated that. That they've, that they were, they have gone through another year of life. And ~~~~~~~~bt~Md~~~~~~
then that ceremony, they'll ask basically for the same the coming year. You know, they'd give offerings for that. It was basically a big prayer ceremony really. And then they would feast. And then if the, if the ceremony required dancing like say a good example would be the Sundance, then that's when they would do that, but then if it's basically for celebration, they would basically have what is called today a Powwow, you know? A Powwow and a spiritual ceremony are two different things. One is for celebration, the other is for prayer. (W01 2018) Both historically and today, the Peace River system has been an important travel corridor for WMFN. Members from West Moberly described the significance of the system as follows:
This area, the whole river system should have been protected as a cultural heritage site for the mere fact that it was used - Before the Hudson's Bay Company came up here, it was used by our people as a network, it was a highway. ... So, a// along here, the Dunne-za people would camp and they would move up and down the river. (W08 2018) That's one of the main, to me, the Peace Valley between Hudson Hope and Fort St. John is one of the most beautiful places, just driving by the river. Like today
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when I was coming I was looking at that you know emerald water and I just, I connect with that. I've paddled on water all my life and I, yeah I just- it bothers me a lot. So those are a few things. The access from other people and yeah, more people. (W17 2018) When travelling throughout the Peace River area, WMFN members stop to camp in many places and use those campsites as bases for hunting, trapping, gathering, and outdoor recreation activities. Well, my... excuse me, my kids ... our kids have seen the ... knows of the Peace as it is now because they've camped with us when they were younger. And when they come over to visit us, they have families of their own now, and our grandkids, well, they're ... our oldest grandchild is, what, 21? No, 22, so he knows a bit of the Peace River as it is. But if all this is flooded, I mean, my... our kids are ... it's going to be their memories that they know of the Peace. And for us, John and I, well, it's going to be a land that's been totally lost. I mean, you know, we just love it. We ... if we're not camping, we usually go out for a drive and that's the first place we go to, is for a drive from Fort St. John maybe to Hudson Hope, for a Sunday drive or whatever, if we're not camping along that area. It's just our favourite spot. (W04 in W04 and W05 2011) We camp anywhere. Even right now, you start moving up right from here, go up in this place. When you start some place, you make a little camp and start out the next day. That's the way we move. Because we're trappers, we never stay in one place. (W02 in W02 and W 03 2011) Trapping in particular is an activity that has long been a part of WMFN culture, and WMFN continue to trap today throughout the region. There are trapper cabins throughout the area. There are sites that people frequent quite often. So the effect of habitation would, like, it's -- it's hard to explain. We live here in the community. This is where our residences are, are in towns, but we, as part of the trapping, go out and -- or have the right to erect trapper cabins. We have the right-- we don't have to have a trapline. We can trap anywhere throughout the territory. So people put up their cabins or make campsites. And a lot of times a habitation site isn't actually a physical cabin. It's a campsite where lean-tos are used or tents are used. But it's an area that has been used over and over for that. And it's the individual hunters-- It's a bit of a-- it's tough because I don't want people to know where I'm hunting because I don't want them to come and shoot my moose from me. (Roland Willson in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013c:56) WMFN members noted that the prevalence of high quality animal habitat throughout the Peace River Valley is a key part of what makes it valuable to them. This is critical core habitat to us. As the caribou need critical core habitat, our critical core habitat is all part and parcel of this. We need the caribou, we need the moose, and elk, and deer. We need the fish. Right in the middle of it all, They're
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destroying it. To exist as Dunne-za, people in our way of fife, we need to have those four core habitats maintained. Without them, we don't exist? (WOB 2018) The First Nations have always said this value is important. It's a key spot [Peace River Valley} for us. It provides us fish. It provides us food. It's a refuge for animals. Everything comes to this area and then they move out from there, and then they come in and they move out. It's like your lungs in your body. You breathe, and it sends oxygen to the outside. And it moves in and out like that. (Roland Willson Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2014b:94) A particularly important type of habitat feature is animal crossings, which animals use as part of their migration and movement patterns throughout the region. One West Moberly member described these crossings and how they are concerned about the impacts of the flooding on animal movement. Well, those V's have game trails in them and that's where the animals when they cross, that's where they will cross. They will come down the V and cross the river or they will come this way and go to that V and climb up to the high plateau on the south side... There's a good chance the flooding will go all the way over to here for let's say, well an animal that's going to come, that's going to cross here, will not recognize the place because there's a big body of water there and a lot of debris floating in it. And where they're going to, where they're going to get out of the water to climb up the bank will look completely different. The appearance [of the Peace River valley} will change and then the animals will really won't know. And what's really going to happen over time is the south bank over here where the supply of ungulates living on this side that's being supplied by the north side, will start to deplete. And it's depleted enough already and it'll, the same thing will happen to the what I call the foot to hill ungulates, which is the moose, the deer, and the elk. The same thing will happen to them that happened to the mountain ungulates, which is the caribou, the sheep and the goats south of the Peace reach on the Williston Reservoir. They will disappear. Immediately south of the Peace reach, there is no sheep, no goats, not until you get way down south into the burnt Brazion area, Sukunka area ... And right now the caribou is on the endangered species fist. (W01 2018) Several WMFN members spoke about fishing practices on the Peace and its tributaries, and how in addition to being a culturally significant activity and source of food, it is a valuable opportunity to transmit knowledge between generations. So, the significance of your first fish is pretty special. That's the - So, in our culture, in the Dunne-za culture, when you shoot your first animal or you catch your first fish, you don't actually eat it. You don't keep it. You give it away. You share it with your family or your- With a moose, you would bring it back to the community, and you would give everybody in the community- They would benefit from your first kill. So, your first fish is the same concept. You don't actually eat it. You give it to somebody. You give it to an elder-typically, an elder on that. But the whole significance of the teaching of bringing them out there, teaching them all the process of fishing, what to do when you catch the fish, how to treat the fish.
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That whole everything that's involved in the first anything (laughs) type of thing is very significant. It was his first fish that he caught on the Peace River. It was in an area that we knew was fish. So, his teaching, I'm hoping that I taught him properly on what to do with that fish. And that sets him up for his-when he has his child, and he takes his child out to go fish. Hopefully he can pass on the knowledge that was given to me, that I gave to him, that he will give to his kid. Hopefully. Or maybe I give it to his kid. I don't know if-maybe I'm the one that catches his first-takes him out for his first fish. But it's a very-it's almost a step into manhood. From being a child into being an adult type of thing. You shoot your first animal, you catch your first fish, you shoot your first chicken, or you snare your first rabbit. It's a stepping stage to being an adult. For boys, it's a stepping into manhood. So, it's a rather spiritual thing to have happen. It's a-for the Dunne-za, it's a teaching that has gone on for 10,000 years. I was taught to do that by my mom. She was taught to do that by her mom. She was taught that. It's gone on that way forever. (W08 2018) The Peace River Valley is home to rare medicinal plant species, and West Moberly people are concerned about the impacts of the Site C project on low-lying areas where these plants grow.
[Interviewer: And what does that mean to you with the possibility of this now being underwater?] That means all that is going to be lost. We won't be able to utilize those medicines, and as far as I know, in this Peace Valley is where that lung medicine grows. I mean, I don't know what it is, what's it called in English, but that's all we call it is lung medicine ... mean what the elders do is show us what a plant is and what it's used for. Like I said, yesterday, but they won't tell us how to process it. Or they'll even make the same or they'll make a comment saying that this is one of the ingredients, you know, this plant is one of the ingredients to treat cancer or diabetes or something like that... That's so you know that this is a medicinal plant. That doesn't mean you could use it because if you try to use it without being shown how to do it, you can kill somebody because some of these medicines are specially the most powerful ones are poisonous plants. So, you got to know what you're doing. Saine of them are really potent too if you give too strong a dose, you might kill somebody. You know, even though it's not poisonous. (W01 2018) [Flooding effect on low lying plants] It will. It'll kill them all. They, we will no longer be able to harvest them, use them in any way. And to me that lung medicine is what we call a rare medicinal plant because this is the only place we know it grows. If it grows anywhere in the Peace country, I don't know. And it maybe it does, I don't know. I've never really looked elsewhere for it, but this is where I've seen it. ... It's devastating because what if one day it has to be used to treat somebody with a lung ailment and that's the only thing that works because modern medicine can't do anything. It's gone, we can't and there is times where some people because of whatever ailment they have, modern medicine couldn't do anything for them. So, a lot of them left the hospital and would go see a herbal healer and they got treatment... You know, but it all depends too and what stage. That has a lot to do with it and a lot of it has to do with the potency of the medicine because the, with the medicine, it's potency depends on where it grows.
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The ecotype it grows in, you disturb that ecotype, you know, it'll change the potency of that medicine, you know? ... So, and it doesn't help with industry running all over the countryside clear cutting forests. And especially strip mining. All these roads with oil and gas development that they're building, you know, well sites everywhere, big freaking camps everywhere. Even wind energy. They have an impact on the land too, but you know, and that affects the potency of the medicine. In this case, according to me, I'm going to lose the medicine here. A medicine that one day is going to be very important for me. And I don't know where else to pick it, where else to get it because it's going to be underwater here. (W01 2018) In summary, based on the above quotes, it is my opinion that the Peace River and Peace River Valley are of fundamental importance to sustenance through hunting and trapping of game as well as harvesting food plants. The importance also extends to medicine, including traditional medicines. The valley lands are also instrumental for education, transportation and communication for WMFN and are central to their ability to practice their continued their way of life In their ancestral home.
6.2.2 Critical Areas Along the Peace River This section summarizes the site-specific and qualitative values analyzed for each of the Critical Areas identified by WMFN. The site-specific values are mapped values from interviews with West Moberly First Nation members, and the qualitative values are from the sources identified in Section 1.2. Site-specific values are summarized first, followed by qualitative values. Figures 7 through 11 detail the critical areas identified by WMFN.
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1 -L) FINAL REPORT: W EST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICALAND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
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L) FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE P EACE RIVER VALLEY
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58
FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
Crltlal•,..•• Identified by West Moberly First Nations
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59
FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
Critical areas Identified by West Moberly First Nations
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fiNAL REPORT; WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
Crttlcalareas Identified by West Moberly First Na tions
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6.2.3 Upstream of Eagle Island The Critical Area Upstream of Eagle Island is important to WMFN land users. West Moberly First Nation members recorded the following values in this area: areas for picking sage and lung medicine; multiple moose and elk kill sites; identified bear habitat in the back channels along the Peace River where bears feed at low water levels, and good ungulate habitat for calving; campsites; and water travel routes along the Peace River and truck travel routes on land. Roland Willson explained that he saw eagles nests on these islands during his interview for the traditional use study. Clarence also noted the importance of eagle feathers to their community:
[My wife] collects eagle feathers and where we live at Moberly Lake, eagles come there all the time so her and I are always kind of watching for that. She also collects bees nests, makes picture frames out of the paper and the eagles feathers she makes the bottoms of them and puts hide in there and we give them as gifts sometimes, for like Stewart or dignitary or someone we want to give a gift to we give them a beaded feather like that. So we're always, whenever we see a big nest - we didn't stop then but if we were on our own, we were at Paddle for the Peace thing, but if we were on our own we'd probably spend a few hours walking along looking for feathers, we do that at the lake all the time. Sometimes you'll find a big wing feather or something like that. (Clarence Willson, 2018) 6.2.4 Buffalo Jump The Buffalo Jump Critical Area is important to WMFN primarily for historical reasons, but is also valued for its environmental features. The area also includes a reported value for elk and deer habitat. WMFN often refer to the Buffalo Jump In relation to their practices at Bear Flats. WMFN members also reported the location of the buffalo jump and noted the importance of the area as a gathering place for people from multiple communities.
All the Dunne-za have gathered here [ ...} also there is a buffalo jump located here. (W08 2011) Some people said there was a buffalo jump around here. This could have been that area they were talking about. I myself haven't heard anything about that. .. I've heard about it but I don't know where it is ... They said it was old people from they were talking about it at a meeting at Treaty 8. It was old people from Doig, Blueberry, West Mo, Saulteau, Prophet River, Fort Nelson. There was a big group of old people. So they were all saying yeah, there's one there ... Anywhere from 100 to 10,000 years old. (W01 2018)
6.2.5 Bear Flats Based on the recorded occupation and use values, Bear Flats Critical Area is one of the areas most heavily used by WMFN. WMFN members mapped the following: sites for picking chokecherries for food and medicine, as well as saskatoons for food; multiple kill sites for moose; recorded sites for moose habitat throughout the year, elk habitat, deer habitat, and a crossing for black and grizzly bear; camping sites and gathering
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places used for family and group culture camps, Treaty 8 gatherings, Paddle for the Peace events, Nenan Dane-zaa gatherings, and historical gatherings of Dunne-za people; sites for collecting spring water for drinking while camping and using the area; one noted identified a spring as important due to calcium deposits; sites for elders teaching youth about dry meat and other traditional activities, and for teaching about the importance of the Peace River and WMFN identity; sites for tea dances, sweat lodges, drumming, singing, and Native games, as well as a prayer flag tree; multiple confirmed burial sites identified on the ground by a West Moberly First Nation member, and general locations identified by oral history for old Dunne-za burial sites including a reported presence of a mass grave; and multiple water routes pass through this area. Bear Flats is also important for cultural continuity and the preservation of knowledge, and for knowledge transmission. As one WMFN member explained, in the context of the Site C Project, being able to visit places such as Bear Flats helps younger generations who want to understand their family's history to connect with their heritage. As in the past, hunting from Bear Flats continues to this day, although there have been recorded instances of conflict with authorities, as observed in the second quote below.
Yeah. Yeah, actually, when we camped at Bear Flats, the boys did go hunting. And they brought back moose and we made dry meat and cut meat up at the camp. We were at Bear Flats, but we were down lower. Yeah, because we actually set up a camp there. Where was that one? (W12 2011) ... Back in the 70s I think- late 70s early 80s, a Saulteau member some place along that stretch killed a moose just off the road [near Bear Flats], and he was reported and the game wardens I think it was came and basically arrested him and he took the argument to court and he was found not guilty because he was exercising his Treaty right. (W01 2011) One WMFN member recalled that the Cache Creek area of Bear Flats in particular was used historically tor camping and defensive purposes.
Yeah and it was I'm not sure what the reason they camped there, but I think it had something to do it was a, one of the camp areas as they were travelling along the river. And because rivers were basically their highways to get places, you know? They would, they would follow the river to get to Hudson's Hope for example from here, Fort St. John. They would follow the river there because a lot of times it was a direct route I guess for lack of a better way of explaining it. I mean some of them would go across country, but not always because they wanted to stay close to fresh water. So, if water was ever needed, you know, they could camp anywhere along that river and they had freshwaters there. But, you know, Cache Creek was because there was a small tributaries running into a big river and like I was saying yesterday, I mean sure they would swim in the river to bath and stuff /Ike that, but they would prefer to do it in a smaller stream where the current wasn't so strong. So, you know, that made it a likely place. (W01 2018) It was highly possible historically there was a main camp here, because that site would have been chosen as a main camp because it would have been easy to
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defend if the enemies came from this way, and the enemy at that time, better known as the Cree. And it would have been easier to defend, because they would have had to come across here because the vantage point or the view point from up here, you can see all the way down the whole Peace valley. (W01 2018) Yeah because well, the main thing was, if they want to swim or bath they would rather go in one of these creeks instead of the Peace River, because not only is the First Nations people were never vel)l good swimmers, the Peace would have been too powerful for them. And second of all, the Peace is like frickin' ice cold. Comes from the damn mountains, remember, and yeah, so if they were going to camp overnight some place along the Peace River they would want to camp at a small stream where, for those that wanted they could have a bath. .. lt was justcommonly known as a stopover area, as a place to camp. I don't know how else to explain it. (W01 2018) Bear Flats is known to be highly valuable for various species, including as wintering and calving grounds and movement corridor for moose, and part of the summer range for elk and deer. Along that whole valley if we were to disrespect landowners and disobey the laws, one of the places we would do a lot of hunting would be in around the Bear Flats, because that's fine wintering range for moose... that's where a lot of moose during the winter months have been seen. (W01 2011) [Bear flats and surrounding area] In the winter time it's for moose, but in the summer time it's for elk and deer and that includes this up here. All year round... this whole- north of the river. (W01 2011)
A WMFN member described how the Dunne-za people used to construct a corral at Bear Flats for moose hunting and harvesting purposes: They used to build, I've never done it, but they used to build like a corral and they would funnel the moose into a corral and then they would get stuck in there, they would lock them in and stab them and kill them. And that's- ... They used to do that at Bear Flats. I heard- Jerl)l Attachie from Doig River used to talk about doing that. Molly Desjarlais, Max Desjarlais' mother, told stories about how they would do that and they would sit up on a--up high and watch the animals move in and then put a plan together. They would send people down there and kind of herd the animals towards this area. (W08 2018) The occupation of land in this area by private landowners and implementation of legal restriction on hunting have curtailed WMFN use of the area, and people believe that Site C will exacerbate this problem by further depleting hunting areas and animal habitat. Oh, unbelievable. Well the whole- that's the thing that makes me the saddest about this flooding of the valley, because that- the valley itself is the habitat, that's where in the winter, that's where they hang out- in the valley. And to me it's just -I was driving through today and driving through Bear Flats there and there's
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deer and moose down in the little willows there, and evety time I come through I see moose in there and that's- they need that habitat. (W01 2018) Saskatoons [berries]. The kids pick saskatoons around there. There's a lot. Even last week we went there and cooked breakfast for that Paddle for Peace. And there was a lot of people there last Saturday, but they couldn't go down the river with their canoes because of the high water. There was some ladies there saying they went for a walk further past the camp. They said, "Oh, the saskatoons are ripening already." (W03 in W02 and W03 2011) In addition, at least one WMFN member disclosed that they consider Bear Flats to be a sacred area and of spiritual significance, being the location of a sweat lodge that has been maintained for over a decade and which is used on an annual basis. The other thing too that is sacred sits on a property of Mr. Boon and his wife, and that's a sweat lodge. I run that sweat lodge. I earned that right 12 years ago to do that, to run a sweat lodge. And a sweat lodge in our tradition is a church. That's how we were taught to pray, which we believe was by the Creator. That lodge has a high potential of sitting underwater. Even a lodge that is not being used still has its sacredness, because it's called -- we call it sacred land. We are not allowed to take down a lodge. It has to fall down by itself. Not unless we're going to replace the lodge in the same location are we allowed to take one down. (George Desjarlais in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013b:54) This area here, about 50 meters by 50 meters is sacred land. There's a sweat there, and it's a sweat that's used on an annual basis ... and if it doesn't get flooded out [by Site C], when the reservoir is built, in time it's going to get washed away. (W01 2011) Furthermore, Bear Flat has been identified as a location where burials may be found. As shown in the site-specific data above, some of these graves have been located by WMFN members. Well basically there's a lot of histoty there and we still haven't found the mass graveyard that's there that the old people talk about. That said that there's one there and now because, I don't even know how many people died when, what was it called? I think it was smallpox? When it hit in the late 1800s, early 1900s, and that's what these people died from. And they were all buried somewhere around there according to the old people, but we don't know where it is and that's what we want to find because in our culture, a grave site is not supposed to be disturbed. You know, especially a graveyard and that's what's there some place and we haven't been given that opportunity to tty and find that graveyard to make sure it's sage. And it, you know, historical stuff whether it's artifacts or whatever, is abundant in the area because people used to live there ... As part of their seasonal round whether they were travelling up and down the river or they were fishing in the river or, you know, whatever. To us, that's important to document our histoty. (W01 2018)
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Figure 12: Confluence of the Halfway River and Peace River (Photo credit: Firelight)
Somebody had said there's a gravesite up on top there [by Cache Creek]. I knew it was for years, I don't know how long but I never actually went there until years later and it was a gravesite but I basically went to see for myself. Right about here some place, prayer flags. There 's a prayer flag tree. (W01 2018)
In sum , the Bear Flat area is of special relevance to the WMFN because of its historical relevance, heritage resources, its spiritual meaning, the richness and diversity of wild species, and the sense of place derived from these qualities. 6.2.6 Canoe in the Bush (Halfway) The Canoe in the Bush (Halfway) Critical Area is another area identified by West Moberly members. Members recorded the following values: a picking site for mint use for medicine and cooking ; multiple sites for catching whitefish , grayling, rainbow t rout, bull trout, and Dolly Varden, with methods including nets; multiple sites for eagle nests and habitat, grizzly bear habitat, deer habitat, moose habitat, and elk habitat; old growth cottonwood and birch trees; a historical gathering site for Dunne-za bands (based on oral history from Elders) and contemporary campsites and gathering places for youth camps and Paddle for the Peace events; sites for teaching youth how to set nets in the river for fishing, and teaching about the meaning of the river to WMFN people; and multiple values for water travel routes on the Peace River and truck routes on land.
Like Bear Flat, the confluence of the Halfway River is a gathering place and is also a known place name, the latter of which evidences the history of t ravel and use in the area.
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Elders talked about this. It was actually traditionally called Canoe in the Bush. This is where people would come down and park their canoe in the bush. It was a gathering spot. Chief Gerry Hunter told me the story of this ... Right at Halfway. The Halfway area is called Canoe in the Bush. (W08 2011) In the tradition of past community gatherings, camps continue to be held where the Halfway River meets the Peace River.
My first night in a tepee and my first time setting up a tepee was right there ... Well we set up the tepee, me and another guy right here... One night. It was the night before the Paddle for the Peace, first year I did it I think. I slept in the tepee e. (W17 2018) Well they're one of the few places where you can actually get at this time, one of the few places you can camp there now. Like the oral history and stories I've heard of the Halfway and you know people using that as a corridor, like all the rivers were corridors at one time. A Jot of people asked how did Dunne-za people get to Tumbler Ridge ? Like there 's Jots of oral history and we had a community gathering the stories that people were telling us, they walked on the ice. The rivers froze and they were perfect highways. So to me those rivers are all, they were used by hunters and you know the valleys in the winter were perfect habitat for moose, low areas like that. (W17 2018) The history of the place name also reflects the importance of the place to WMFN.
You know, I heard stories from Jerry Attachie that the Halfway was called canoe in the bush, that was the spot there. They would float down the Halfway and park their canoe there and people from the river would go down and park their canoes there, and that 's why they called it canoe in the bush, right? (W08 2018) In addition to being a gathering place for historical and contemporary WMFN, Canoe in the Bush (Halfway) is also valued for Its wildlife habitat and old growth forests.
Figure 13: Camp cookout (Photo credit: George Desjarlais)
And, and you know it's good wildlife habitat too. I mean all along the Halfway Valley itself, you know, just head up stream, cross wherever you can, and to go hunting or you can go up on top the high plateau. I mean all those fields you see there from farmers; they weren't there a hundred years ago or hundred and fifty years ago. That old growth forest by the river was probably larger than what it is now. You know, it was probably cleared by the farmer or whatever. So, yeah. (W01 2018)
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And to me that's one of the concerns I have again about the flooding, is if they, if they create a reservoir all the way back up I think it's 18 kilometers of the Halfway River, what I wony about it what's that going to do to the elk, they use those banks of those rivers, same as on the Peace River, they use those hills. That's their habitat that they like. There's grass and in the spring especially you see hundreds of them out there because the snow melts quicker there and the grass starts growing so they're, anyway that's -I've been looking trying to find a good spot in there but I haven't yet but I will. (W17 2018) Given the prominence of this Critical Area in WMFN history and current use, people are concerned about potential impacts from Site C on the area and how the loss of this area will take away their ability to teach younger generations about their history and connection the Peace River. We lose what we can teach the youth about the area. The history of it, we lose all that. We can talk about it, yeah, but I take them there after the flooding happens, all they're going to see is water. They're not going to see what I was talking about, you know? So, yeah, we're going to lose history of the area and how that area was utilized maybe. {SO: How does that make you feel?] Angry. Angry because there's something that is being imposed on our way of fife. How we could use the area because we'll never get to use it again. And all we'll be able to do now is just talk about it and over time; they'll be nobody to talk about it anymore. You know, give it two or three generations and nobody will know anything about Attach/e. The area called Attachie, the area called Bear Flat. Maybe we'll get somebody that will, that will say where the Halfway River used to flow into the Peace, but nobody will understand what they're talking about because all there is there is just water. Everything that an individual will talk about a hundred years from now will be underwater. (W01 20 18) 6.2.7 Camp with Animal Crossing Site-specific values recorded by West Moberly First Nation members demonstrate that the Camp with Animal Crossing Critical Area is used for the following: a site for picking medicinal plants (sage and rare plants including lung medicine), and a site for harvesting firewood; sites for catching whitefish, grayling, bull trout, rainbow trout, jackfish, and Dolly Varden; habitat for bears that use back channels along the Peace for feeding at low water levels, moose habitat, elk habitat, deer habitat, waterfowl habitat for duck and goose, eagle habitat, ungulate calving areas, and an animal crossing; frequently used camping sites for families at Strawberry Flats; and multiple water travel routes along the Peace River and truck routes on land. As shown in the data above, Camp with Animal Crossing is a valuable fishing area, described by one West Moberly member. But they have a fishing spot here where they go and they catch lots of whitefish and I think, is there - if you go this way, oh yeah right here I think. See the creek coming in, I think that's where they might fish, right there ... Whitefish, grayling, bull trout, like those, where creeks come in like that there's, there's often a nice hole there. IY'J17 2018)
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6.2.8 Farrell Creek to The Gates WMFN members reported multiple values in the Farrell Creek to The Gates Critical Area, including the following: multiple sites for catching rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, whitefish, and other fish, especially near "The Gates; a large beaver dam that has existed for multiple generations, bear habitat for feeding in back channels along the river at low water levels, ungulate calving areas, elk habitat, bear habitat, coyote habitat, wolf habitat, moose habitat, and an animal crossing; multiple camping sites used from the 1970s to the present; a site tor teaching children about family history camping in the area for the Hudson's Hope rodeo; a vision quest site along the bank of the Peace River, and a Dreaming site; and multiple travel routes by boat along the Peace River. The point where Farrell Creek meets the Peace River was historically important to WMFN. The area was relied upon tor hunting and was considered to be a dependable source of moose; in more recent times, the quality of hunting in this area has declined due to industry. That's all huge elk area in there ... Today there was ten but I mean I've driven through there at times and seen 60 or 70 or I don't know how many. They travel around. I've hunted on there too. It's private property but not along the edge of the cliff but these big fields up here. Like you'll drive out to Farrell Creek and you'll see in these fields like lots of elk in those farmers' fields. (W17 2018) I personally have lost several very good hunting areas to this industry. One example is the Farrell Creek area. Several of our members have used this area to hunt moose, as it was very reliable. You could almost guarantee that if you went there, you would come home with moose, which is important to us because you don't want to be spending day after day after day looking to find moose. (Clarence Willson in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013d:75) In addition to hunting, high quality medicinal resources have been found harvested around the Farrell Creek area, including mint, sage (which is of ceremonial and spiritual value), and other rare plants. CC: Is mint hard to find in this area? WOB: Good mint can be difficult. This stuff here is really- you can smell it. Fills the air when it's ready. And there's certain spots along the river where you get it and it's nice kind of sandy, silty areas. And along most of the streams and rivers that come in like Farrell Creek, you'll find it there, and I think it's always good, it's always strong. (W08 2011) Right along this area here too is where sage grows. And sage is used by first nations people for smudging ceremonies and prayer ceremonies. There's that old channel I was talking about. There it is right there. And along to here is where the sage and that plant grows, along the top of the ridge. This ridge is probably 100 feet high, but it is going to be under water. And this plant I was telling you about, this is the only place I've seen this plant [lung medicine]. For us people that are medicine people, this is a rare medicinal plant. It might not be fisted in a regular blue species or as an endangered species or anything like that in the scientific
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world, but as a first nations medicinal plant it is a rare medicinal plant because this is the only place we know that this plant knows, and it's going to get killed off by this dam. (Wa1 2a11)
6.2.9 Lynx Creek WMFN members mapped multiple values in the Lynx Creek Critical Area, including: sites for catching jackfish, rainbow trout, whitefish, and Dolly Varden; identified deer habitat; a gathering place for the Paddle for the Peace event; and multiple water routes along the Peace River and truck routes on land. WMFN members have identified the confluence of Lynx Creek (with the Peace River) as a camping and fishing area. Members have also travelled on the Peace River by boat in the vicinity and collected drinking water from the river while camping. Well, I have had my boat in there a few times when we were fishing, [over talking] down the river from that bottom camp. We used to take my boat down there every year and we used to go up and down fishing in that area. ryvas in wa4 and was 2a11, as) We just got water right out of the river when we camped at the bottom. You know, we'd just go down and... because we're right by the river anyways, we'd just took a couple of pails down there and we'd see the ... got our water and just let it sit and let it settle and that's ... (Wa4 in wa4 and was 2a11, as) 6.2.1 0 Rocky Mountain Fort Area In my opinion, the Rocky Mountain Fort Critical Area is of both historical and contemporary significance to West Moberly First Nations members, as demonstrated by the following mapped values: multiple sites for catching whitefish, rainbow trout, grayling, and Dolly Varden; a whitefish spawning area in Maurice Creek, and beaver habitat; the location of a Beaver Indian community from before 1933 with cabin footprints sighted by the informant in 1982, multiple old family cabins and camp sites including a cabin by the river crossing, a gathering place by the ferry crossing, and a former campsite for the West Moberly people, and a historical gathering place for people from Halfway River, West Moberly, Blueberry River, Doig River, and Saulteau to meet and arrange marriages between community members; a spring water source with a calcium deposit; multiple values for a "shaking rock" near a creek, used as a medicinal and spiritual site; a Dunne-za burial site with multiple graves as old as several hundred years, marked with a sign in 2aa4; and a river crossing used historically by many Dunne-za people, a historical wagon travel route, multiple water travel routes along the Peace River, a walking trail, and truck travel routes along land. WMFN also actively trapped, picked medicines, and fished the Peace River near Hudson's Hope. My dad, Alfred Courtoreil/e, was born in 1912 and died in 2001. When I was a child he would take me into the bush and teach me how to trap. My Dad and I used to walk along the Peace River by Hudson Hope this was a part of my dad's trapline. We used to get medicine there. My Dad and my step-grandmother
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"Suzanne," used to take the packhorses to the south side of the River by Hudson's Hope to get roots and medicine. Other medicine men also used to go out there along the river to collect medicine. (C. Dokkie 2013:3) When we lived at Swan Lake, my dad also used to fish for whitefish, trout and other fish in the Peace River. Others also used to fish on the Peace River. At Hudson Hope where the hotel used to be, there is a trail that goes down to the River, that is where people used to fish. One time my son Floyd Dokkie when he was still alive, he went fishing there and he brought me back a five-pound trout. (C. Dokkie 2013:6) In the vicinity of Hudson's Hope there are also places of spiritual and heritage value, as shown in the site-specific values above. These include a sacred "shaking rock" and a cemetery, as described by two West Moberly members: Well, there's ... by the bridge, the Hudson's Hope by the Peace Canyon whatever, there's a rock there. My uncle used to always talk about it. He'd say it was a sacred rock and it was ... Apparently there's a few of them in the area, and they were placed there by a spiritual being or... I can't remember what they call them. Like a medicine rock maybe or something like that. (W12 2011) West Moberly First Nations and Halfway First Nation were one Nation once, called the Hudson's Hope Band. The name was a reference to our nation's meeting place in Hudson's Hope. We also have a cemetery in Hudson's Hope. (D. Dokkie 2013b:2)
6.2.11 Dreamer's Island In my opinion, the Dreamer's Island Critical Area is important to WMFN people based on the following values reported by West Moberly First Nation members: multiple saskatoon berry picking areas; a site for catching whitefish; bear habitat, deer habitat, and calving areas for ungulates; camping areas including Alvin Holland Park; a spring with a calcium deposit; areas for teaching fishing and other knowledge; spiritual sites including Dreamer's Rock and a good place for a vision quest; and a walking trail. The spiritual importance of Dreamer's Island to WMFN, and the source of the place name, is demonstrated by oral accounts from multiple West Moberly members. Well it's an old story about an individual that dreamt that he was flying. The story goes he was camped on the shore over here and he woke up and he was on the island, and him and his horse were on the island and they had to get off. He had to push his horse off into the river and then he had to jump off into the river and swim to shore. So, it's been - They named it Dreamer's Rock after that story. (WOB 2018) Just down the river here is an island. I call it Vision Quest Island. That island for sure will be underwater, and that's where I was told to do a vision quest. That's how come I call it that. The old people say that you have to have four dreams. To date I've had two. These dreams started 15 years ago, and since then I've only had two. I need two more, and that's where I'm supposed to do it. And the reason
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why I think that's where I'm supposed to do it is that's where my ancestors used to do it. There's no other reason for it. So for me, that island is sacred, and it's going to be under water. (George Desjarlais in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013c:57)
6.2.12 Trappers Lake Area The Trappers Lake Critical Area is highly used by West Moberly First Nation members based on the following reported site-specific values reported: areas for picking blueberries and low bush cranberries, an area for collecting small birch trees for making bows, and an area for collecting firewood; one member reports that they no longer pick here due to contamination from industrial spraying; a site for catching jackfish to use as bait for trapping; one member reports that they no longer fish here due to contamination from industry and catching a jackfish with warts on it; multiple kills sites for chickens (grouse) and moose, and a grizzly bear kill site; a trapping area; good moose and elk habitat, multiple mineral and salt licks, a grizzly sighting, and a wolf kill sighting; an old trapper's cabin, multiple campsites, and a site known as "Old Halfway"; and a quad trail, a skidoo trail, and truck routes. The Trapper's Lake area is significant to Dunne-za people as a location for camping and gathering, and contemporary WMFN members recall using it in years past and the importance of the area to Dunne-za fur trappers.
'Cause everybody from Moberly camped there. Not only during what they called Treaty days but also during Hudson Hope rodeo. The old people, they used to like playing baseball a long time ago and they used to come, they used to come to Hudson Hope and play baseball too ... This old road, and it used to be a wagon road, and there was an ice bridge across the river here to go to Hudson Hope... The reason why this area here, some place in here, the reason why it's called the old Halfway was because, on the way home after the rodeo was over, people were hungover and they could only, they only wanted to travel halfway home. (W01 2018) [Peace Moberly Tract] Every summer we camped there. I think the last time we camped there I was about 10-12 years old, picking berries. That was before the old people got too old ... We camped here, we camped there, we camped here, pick a spot, we camped there. (W01 2018) Blueberries, we pick blueberries there. Mosquito Lake. That's called Mosquito Lake, Dean calls it Mosquito Lake. Denise told me that her stepdad used to be the trapper in that area, and they used to catch jackfish in that little lake ... And it's a shallow lake. Very shallow. And the Jackfish are not good to eat out of there 'cause they taste muddy kind of, and so they would catch them to use for bait for trapping. (W17 2018)
6.2.13 Peace-Moberly Tract The Peace-Moberly Tract Critical Area includes the following values reported by West Moberly First Nation members: an area used for fishing in the past but no longer in use due to BC Hydro regulations; habitat tor moose, deer, elk, chickens (grouse), and rabbits, and eagle habitat prior to disturbance by BC Hydro blasting that a member
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observed drove them out of the area; a spirit rock location and a gathering site for eagle feathers; and multiple truck travel routes. For present-day WMFN, the Peace Moberly Tract (PMl)- roughly defined by the area south of the Peace River, west of the Moberly River, north of Moberly Lake, and east of Portage Mountain- is a vital cultural landscape that supports hunting, trapping, and fishing, among other practices. The full extent of the PMT encompasses Critical Areas already detailed above, including Canoe in the Bush (Halfway), Farrell Creek to The Gates, Lynx Creek, and Rocky Mountain Fort. This section focuses on the parts of the PMT that are farther south, away from the shore of the Peace River. The muskeg ecosystems of the PMT provide rich territory for WMFN to hunt and harvest food and medicinal plants. Yeah. That whole area is a really good hunting area, that whole Peace-Moberly Tract area. It's good for hunting. It's good for medicinal plants, berry picking, and there's fowl in there because it's really muskeg-y, right? (W12 2011) The area is noted by WMFN members for its high quality ungulate habitat. There's always elk, moose, and deer in that valley. It's a-- and atthis time of year, and when it gets a little colder in January, it becomes much more inhabited [sic] by animals, and those animals are - they don't stay in those valleys. They move out into the PMT. (Clarence Willson in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013d:61) This area here, this whole area, we call it the PMT. The Peace Moberly Tract area. It's identified as a planning area we engage the province with, has been identified by the province. South of the Peace and north of the Peace up in here, has the two best moose habitat zones in all of British Columbia. They're ranked one and two. (W08 2018) WMFN members detailed the importance of the PMT in the context of these habitat features and also the extensive hunting and trapping that occurs in the PMT as a result. This whole area's really good for hunting. If the access is good enough we go there too. Nine out of 10 times it's too muddy or this old highway or this old logging road is washed out too badly to go hunting there, but we do try to go there as often as we can because it's really good and this is prime wildlife habitat and it's also part of the Peace Moberly Tract as it were ... that's been utilized by our people a lot for the purpose of hunting and culling moose and that. (W01 2011) These areas out in Rene Lakes {just southeast of Hudson's Hope] and the areas along that power line have been used by West Moberly and Saulteau people for-forever. And now you can barely find a moose out there. (Clarence Willson in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013b:97)
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[Peace Moberly Tract] So, we've done a lot of hunting in and around this area. There's lot of old roads, old forestry roads, cut lines, you know, things like that all throughout there. So, there's a lot of access... We've camped out there several times. I couldn't begin to tell you how many times and over here too is where we did a lot of, lot of hunting, but that's from the Cameron Lake side. (W01 2018) According to WMFN members, this richness of cultural values in the PMT is partially attributable to the ability of animals to cross the Peace River, and the presence of calving and wintering grounds.
The animals in the Del Rio area and in what we call the PMT area, they want to make sure that those are always plentiful in there. Because those are the animals that we hunt for sustenance - deer, elk and moose - and also, the animals that we trap ... Yeah, PMT is in this area- Peace Moberly Tract. This whole area is plentiful, because these animals can move across this river, back and forth, easily. They build that dam. That's going to stop, and the same thing south of the Williston Reservoir. The Peace Arm Is going to happen here. And in the Moberly Lake area, that happened back here. (W01 2011) WMFN members are concerned about potential impacts of the Site C Project on the animals who live in the PMT, even though it is located away from the Peace River itself.
At first, there will be no noticeable change to the movement of the foothill ungulates. And that the numbers may appear high due to the displaced wildlife, which is what happened south of the Williston Reservoir. However, over time, after the flooding is completed, it will become noticeable. As a reservoir will now be replacing the Peace River and the islands along the river corridor that was their prime calving grounds and wintering habitat. The areas where wildlife used to cross will be under water and unrecognizable. Inlets will be created with debris gathering and floating into them where the trails that lead to the higher plateau, the PMT, south -- on the south side of the Peace River and will be impassable to the ungulates. The rest of the south side of the reservoir will have a rock wall for the most part to stop them from completing their crossing. And right now, in the PMT, according to our hunters, the number of ungulates south of the Peace River are at an all-time low. (George Desjarlais in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2014b:125) If [moose] don't like it then they'll just move right out of there. You won't see moose along the Peace-Moberly tract like you do now. Same with elk. Like they, if they don't have the right environment and all the little pieces aren't in place then they've gotta be able to watch for predators and all those things. They'll just move away and you know everybody's talking, like oh you'll still be able to hunt the PMT, well, the PMT's not that big and if you mess it up and take away all the riverbank that they feel safe coming down to, it might completely change all their movement patterns and stuff like that. I just- who knows what will happen. And the sad part to me is that the people make decisions have no idea what they're doing in that regard. One good elder could tell them stuff they don't know, like how moose move from lick to lick. Like they're not, they don't just wander around and find a lick. They have their movement. How they go about things. (W17 2018)
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[Peace Moberly tract] So that's all part of the PMT, and that's one of my concerns about this whole thing is that that's an abundant wildlife area but part of the reason why I think it's abundant with wildlife is because of the river. You know, that's part of the system that's there. Moose travel up and down, elk use the river and you know, they calve on the islands and it gets used for specific reasons, and one of the things I've always, I've been concerned about right from the start is the PMT, part of the reason that West Moberly is where it is and the community camp there all the time is because of the abundance of wildlife. But part of the reason why the wildlife is there is because there's this habitat, this whole sort of ecosystem of the PMT that has made it, you know, they can calve. It's been, you know, they can survive there. Predators and they've got a system worked out where in that area between West Moberly and the river is -I just seen things happen where a change is made to the ecosystem and animals leave. They don't find it the same. (W17 2018) You know that's the kind of thing, animals, if they don't like something they'll just move. And that changes their pattern of you know, how we interact with the changes and predators might get them easier, take them away from this sort of little trick they got and all of a sudden ruin it for them by changing the landscape and then they're dead or gone or they have to get out of there because it's not safe anymore. It's one of my big concerns. My other big concern I have is the power line. So there's a powerline across the PMT if you just zoom out I thinkkeep going. It goes all the way up there, that might be it right there. That's the power line? So they're doubling the power line. So it's already a road, tons of people use it for quadding and hunting, yeah that's it right there. So that's a powerline. But one of the contracts that they're letting out right now is they're going to double the size of that power line. (W17 20 18) Alongside trapping and hunting, WMFN also fish in the PMT. As with other cultural practices, fishing is often a group and family occasion, and thus an opportunity for knowledge transmission and social boding. Yes, I trap up there with my uncle. Four of us trap up there. And then we go Boucher Lake ... all around that lake, we trap. The whole lake, we just trap there [ .. .] This is Ten Mile ... And then we walk from there; we go fishing from there along the creek ... (W06 in W06 and W07 2011, 06) 6.2.14 Sucker Lake West Moberly First Nation members recorded multiple values in the Sucker Lake Critical Area, including: a berry picking area; sites for catching jackfish and other fish, in some cases using nets; one member noted that the lake lost most of its fish in the 1980s due to contamination from industry; a moose kill site and an elk kill site; multiple beaver trapping sites; multiple trapping cabins and campsites; and a gathering place where people would meet while camping.
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6.2.15 Islands and Old Growth Forests The final Critical Area addressed in this Supplemental TUS analysis is Islands and Old Growth Forests, which extends along the entirety of the section of the Peace River that has been discussed thus far. Based on the prevalence of data reported along the Peace River by WMFN members, it is my opinion that the islands in the river and the old growth forests along the river and its tributaries of high importance to WMFN due to the quality habitat for animal and plant species. These values include the following: areas for picking sage and lung medicine; sites for catching rainbow trout, bull trout, whitefish, jackfish, and grayling ; habitat for bears along the back channels where they feed at low water levels; good habitat for animal calving; "very busy habitat" for ungulates including elk, deer, and moose; habitat for birds including eagles; fox and coyote habitat; and animal crossings; and multiple water travel routes utilize the islands. Islands found in the Peace River are recognised by WMFN as highly valuable habitat for ungulates as well as waterfowl. Figure 14: Island on the Peace (Photo Credit: George WMFN continue to depend on Desjarlais) various ungulate species for food, as well as for the practice of artisanal craftsmanship (e.g., using hides to make moccasins and mitts). Interviewees describe having observed diverse species of animals moving to and from the Peace River Islands, including deer, elk, moose, and bear.
I've seen deer, I've seen elk, moose, I've seen bear cross here. I've seen coyotes on this island, on the shores here. (W08 2011) And one time I was going to Fort St. John, me and my mother, we seen an elk swimming across towards the island with a little baby, little baby right there ... They were going to the island. And I've seen deer there too, so there's a lot of wildlife there. (W03 in W02 and W03 2011) Others note the function of the islands as refuges from predators and calving grounds for moose, and that deer and elk also make use of these riverine features.
The deer are usually there [islands in the Peace River around Bear Flats] and the elk are there because of farmers ' fields, but the moose are there because of habitat, like it's good habitat ... lots of willows, lots of- when the calves, they hide, it's isolated in the river so the wolves and stuff don't typically go out there. And bears. It's a bear crossing but the bears don't frequent it I don't think for that. (W08 2011)
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All you'd have to do is find the right game trails. There's thousands of them. All you got to do is walk along the shore [of the Peace River] and you'll see themespecially on the south side ... I would imagine each one of these tributaries that flow in there has a main game trail and secondary ones in between them. The other thing too about the ungulates ... these islands you see along here that are going to get flooded out [by Site C] is their prime calving grounds. Back in the mid-90s when the WAC Bennett Dam opened its spillway to release the pressure on the dam, it flooded the Peace River and flooded these islands. And hundreds of fawns and calf moose drowned, including their mothers. But you never hear BC Hydro talk about that, and they'll never admit to it. (WO 1 2011) Certain times of the year, the animals would move in and out of the area. What I've understood is that you don't really- When they come down to the river and get into the islands and stuff, you leave them alone. You know, that was kind of a refuge for them, they were protected there, but when they came out of there, especially when they got back up on the banks, that was when they were done their business in the valley and they were then moving around and you would hunt them off on the sides... A lot of them are calving on the islands ... A lot of them are getting away from the predators on the islands, it 's like a part of the refuge, getting away from them. There was lots of food, lots of water, and they could do their business there and not have to be too worried about being accosted by anything down there, other than us. (W08 2018) Well for the most part, using those islands as calving grounds was a safe place for them ... Safe from predators. The only predator that will probably swim across the Peace River would probably be bears. The others, some may, but most won't. So, for the ungulates, it's a safe place to have a calf. To go calf. I remember some twenty years ago or so when the sinkhole first appeared in that W.A.C. Bennett Dam, and there was big fears that the dam was going to break, so they opened the spillway to relieve the pressure. Well, the Peace River came up high and I mean really high. And some of these islands were underwater and there was actually people that lived along the river and we're talking about farmers here for the most part. They were going out in boats to these islands and saving as many babies as they could because they were drowning because all of a sudden without warning the river came up. And it showed them on the news. Ironically, it only showed them once and then it never said anything about that happening again. (W01 2018) Over the years, these animals have figured out this is a safe haven. These islands are safe havens for them to calf and probably the animals that you see when you drive through that Peace Valley they were probably all born on one of these islands. And wherever if they were born there then they're going to have go have their calves there. You know, their little ones there. This was how would you say this that this is the knowledge that was developed by these animals. They probably won't understand that, you know, because they seem to think that animals cannot think. They seem to think animals cannot learn and that they're dumb or stupid. Well if they were, how the hell did they survive out there in the wilderness, you know? And I don't know it just, it just bothers me that they, they think that. They don't think animals are smart. Animals are smart, they use, they
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use their whole brain as opposed to a human being. If they didn't, they wouldn't survive. (W01 201 B) And along the Peace Valley because in the springtime and especially during the summer time or even sometimes in the winter, as you drive through the Peace Valley, you'll see animals on those islands. Deer, moose, elk. It's not like they're never there. They too know how to hide; you know? One thing I know, I know it makes me think that they, they know when hunting season comes. (W01 201 B) WMFN members have explained that, in addition to being calving grounds, the Peace River Islands serve to shelter ungulates during cold winters, and are also points of land that help animals to cross the river (particularly to the Peace Moberly Tract).
One of the things that we don't get to talk about - well, we talk about a lot, but we don't ever hear anybody else talking about it is the importance of the islands on the river. It's a micro climate in the valley ... This morning coming from Hudson's Hope to Moberly Lake, I saw seven moose on the side of the road, hoping that none of them get hit by a vehicle. It's important for calving for the ungulates. Its habitat in cold weather. Migration patterns, as the animals move and transcend from one side of the river to the other side, they use these islands to get through to on the side where the - over there is a PMT [Peace Moberly Tract]. (Roland Willson in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 201 3e:31) You know, they [ungulates] have their calves on the islands in the valley, and then move up into the PMT areas, and that's where we interact with them. And, to me, it's a vital component of this area. That valley is like the safety zone for them at certain times of year ... (Clarence Willson in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 201 3e:61) One WMFN member expressed concern about how the flooding of the Peace and subsequent submersion of these islands will potentially impact habitat.
Yeah, just make sure that there any important calving grounds for ungulates because if that's taking away then it's in the big picture, it's going to impact the wildlife populations .. .Because some of them, because some of them are going to drown. Yeah, not some of them, a lot of them are going to drown. (W01 201 B) Well it will all depend on their abundance. It would depend on how many survived the flood. There is places where you can hunt deer. There's deer around here. Deer is very abundant, but I think they're more abundant along the Peace River corridor simply because of these islands. So, to some degree it will, it'll affect the hunting of deer. (W01 201 B) Similarly, according to WMFN members, waterfowl also use the Peace River Islands for nesting and raising their young.
The islands along the river also. The old people used to say that that's where the waterfowl, the wildlife, that's where they have their little one. They used to say that
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that's where the water fowl, the wildlife, that's where they have their little ones. They used to say, stay away from there, let the little ones grow, let them get big so we can eat more. And so we always did and never have. All those islands are going to be gone [because of Site C}. (George Desjarlais in Canada Environmental Assessment Agency and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office 2013d:58) And a friend of mine told me, said, "In the springtime I'm going to take you to the island to go walk around." Says, "You wouldn't believe the way the geese ... There's geese and ducks, they just lay on the island. There's just eggs all over." So there must be a lot of wildlife in there. (W03 in W02 and W03 2011)
WMFN members also value the old growth forests that grow along the Peace River, particularly a stand of trees near Canoe in the Bush (Hallway). This is an old growth forest, that's where there's a lot of birch trees. Yep, that's where me and the kids camped, right in here... whole area and all the way this way is old growth. There's cottonwoods there probably four ft. in diameter. To be that big in diameter they have to be at least 120 years old. (W01 2018)
6.3
CONCLUSIONS
Based on my review of the above traditional use study data, I can state, with a high degree of confidence, that the Peace River valley remains culturally significant for WMFN. By detailing current use in the Critical Areas, the continued use of the Peace River for cultural purposes, including hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, teaching, vision quests and other spiritual practices, is of great importance to WMFN. From this information, it is clear that the Peace River is not just an area where WMFN continue their cultural practices; it is a vital part of their identity as a people.
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7.
CONCLUSIONS
I was asked to give my opinion on the following:
•
The significance of the Peace River valley to West Moberly First Nations' Dunneza ancestors, including to their hunting, fishing, and t rapping, their navigation, economy, culture, and spirituality, and to other aspects of t heir traditional way of life, from around or at the time of admittance into Treaty 8;
•
The socio-cultural effects which members of the Hudson's Hope Indian Band or West Moberly First Nations have experienced or continue to experience as a result of the construction of the WAC Bennett dam and the Peace Canyon dam; and
•
The cultural significance of the Peace River valley to West Moberly First Nations today.
It is my opinion that the Peace River valley has been an integral part of the WMFN and their Dunne-za ancestors' way of life. The Peace River valley has p layed a central role in the economic, social, and spiritual life of the WMFN and their Dunne-za ancesto rs at or around the time of treaty, and continues to do so in the lives of WMFN.
7.1
OPINION ON THE SIGNFICANCE OF PEACE RIVER VALLEY AT OR AROUND THE TIME OF TREATY
After reviewing and analysing the literature pertaining to WMFN 's Dunne-za ancestors at or around admittance to Treaty 8, I can conclude that the Peace River valley was of cultural significance to Dunne-za. Sources included available oral histories, archival information, including explorer's journal and government correspondence. With in this review, the cultural significance of the Peace River valley to WMFN's Dunne-za ancestors is shown through observations and stories of Dunne-za's ancestors' occupation and use of the Peace River valley. These include descriptions of oral histories of particular places in the Peace River, European observations of occu pation of the Peace River valley, including long-term gathering places with burial sites, and the Dunne-za assertion of territory and exercising agency within the Peace River. After treaty admittance, the Hudson's Hope Band (including WMFN) and other Dunneza continued to use the Peace River valley for traditional purposes, Including hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and spirituality. The use of the river valley as a core part of the network of travels and travel ways remained an integral part of WMFN's Dunne-za ancestors' way of life.
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7.2
OPINION ON THE SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS OF THE DAMS ON THE PEACE RIVER
The construction of the WAC Bennett Dam and the Peace Canyon dam marked a notable shift in the Dunne-za people's ability to use, and means of using, historical trails and travel routes. It is in my opinion that the two dams have had high socio-cultural impacts on WMFN members' ability to use certain sections of the Peace River valley, particularly in places that are now covered by the Williston Lake reservoir and Peace Canyon reservoir. In reviewing the available information, it is shown that the dams negatively impacted WMFN's ability to hunt ungulates, including moose and caribou, in the region, and even access to the water of the reservoirs poses problems. The dams also negatively impacted fishing in the Peace River valley, and have led to many WMFN members avoidance of consuming fish from the region. WMFN also noted the impact the dams had on their medicine and food plant harvesting in the area. Other sociocultural impacts include the disconnection of communities and families through the lack of connectivity and destroyed travel routes; and the psychosocial impacts such as the ability to peacefully enjoy the land.
7.3
OPINION ON THE SIGNFICANCE OF THE PEACE RIVER FOR WMFN TODAY
Based on my review of the above traditional use study data, I can state, with a high degree of confidence, that the Peace River valley remains culturally significant for WMFN. By detailing current use in the Critical Areas, the continued use of the Peace River for cultural purposes, including hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, teaching, vision quests and other spiritual practices, is of great importance to WMFN. From this information, it is clear that the Peace River Is not just an area where WMFN continue their cultural practices; it is a vital part of their identity as a people.
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8.
WORKS CITED
Aasen, Wendy. 2009. "The Importance of Caribou to the Mountain Dunne-Za (BeaverSekani Indians) of the Upper Peace River Region of British Columbia." Prepared for West Moberly First Nations. Edmonton, Alberta. Attachie, Gerry. 2013. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. Attachie, William. 2013. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. Basso, Keith H. 1996. Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language among the Western Apache. Albuquerque: Univers ity of New Mexico Press. Bouchard and Kennedy Research Consultants. 2011 . "BRFN Traditional Land Use Study. Site-C Clean Energy Project. " Burley, David, Knut R. Fladmark, and J. Scott Hamilton. 1996. Prophecy of the Swan: The Upper Peace River Fur Trade of 1794- 1823. Vancouver, B.C: UBC Press. Canada Environmental Assessment Agency, and British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office. 2013a. "In the Matter of the Joint Review Panel ('Joint Panel') Established to Review the Site C Clean Energy Project ('Project') Proposed by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority ('BC Hydro')." Proceedings at Hearing, Volume 1. Fort St. John, Brit ish Columbia. - - - . 2013b. " In the Matter of the Joint Review Panel ('Joint Panel') Established to Review the Site C Clean Energy Project ('Project') Proposed by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority ('BC Hydro')." Proceedings at Hearing, Vo lume 2. Fort St. John, British Columbia. - - - . 2013c. "In the Matter of the Joint Review Panel ('Joint Panel') Established to Review the Site C Clean Energy Project ('Project') Proposed by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority ('BC Hydro')." Proceed ings at Heari ng, Volume 3. Fort St. John, British Columbia. - - - . 2013d. "In the Matter of the Joint Review Panel ('Joint Panel') Established to Review the Site C Clean Energy Project ('Project') Proposed by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority ('BC Hydro')." Proceedings at Hearing, Volume 7. Hudsons Hope, BC. - - - . 2013e. "In the Matter of the Joint Review Panel ('Joint Panel') Established to Review the Site C Clean Energy Project ('Project') Proposed by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority ('BC Hydro')." Proceedings at Hearing, Volume 8. Fort St. John, British Columbia.
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- - - . 20131. "In the Matter of the Joint Review Panel ('Joint Panel') Established to Review the Site C Clean Energy Project ('Project') Proposed by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority ('BC Hydro')." Proceedings at Hearing, Volume 10. Mcleod Lake, BC. - - - . 2014a. "In the Matter of the Joint Review Panel ('Joint Panel') Established to Review the Site C Clean Energy Project ('Project') Proposed by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority ('BC Hydro')." Proceedings at Hearing, Volume 12. Doig River, British Columbia. - - - . 2014b. "In the Matter of the Joint Review Panel ('Joint Panel') Established to Review the Site C Clean Energy Project ('Project') Proposed by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority ('BC Hydro')." Proceedings at Hearing, Volume 22. Fort St. John, British Columbia. - - - . 2014c. "In the Matter of the Joint Review Panel ('Joint Panel') Established to Review the Site C Clean Energy Project ('Project') Proposed by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority ('BC Hydro')." Proceedings at Hearing, Volume 23. Fort St. John, British Columbia. Candler, Craig. 2012. "Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations Traditional Land Use Study (TLUS) Data and Methodology Report." Casey, Edward S. 1996. "How to Get from Space to Place in a Fairly Short Stretch of Time: Phenomenological Prolegomena." In Senses of Place. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press. Cruikshank, Julie. 1990. Life Lived like a Story: Life Stories of Three Yukon Native Elders. Book, Whole. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. CTQ Consultants, Ltd. 2014. "'Where We Are Matters': A Traditonal Land Use Study and Assessment of the Bulk Sample for the Proposed Gething Mine and a Preliminary Assessment of the Full Mine. Prepared tor West Moberly First Nations." Kamloops, British Columbia. Davis, Jack. 2013. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. Department of Indian Affairs. 1913. "Extract of Letter from Harold Laird to the Secretary," November 3, 1913. RG 10, vol. 7777, tile 27131-1. Library and Archives Canada. Desjarlais, George. 2011. Interview tor the Treaty 8 Tribal Association Oral History Project. West Moberly First Nations. - - - . 2012. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal.
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FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
Desjarlais, Molly. 1998. Interview for the West Moberly First Nations Traditional Land Use Study. Dokkie, Catherine. 2013. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. Dokkie, Dean. 2011. Interview for the Treaty 8 Tribal Association Oral History Project. West Moberly First Nations. - - - . 2013a. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. - - - . 2013b. Affidavit. West Moberly First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. Driver, Jonathan C., and Claudine Vallieres. 2008. "The Paleoindian Bison Assemblages from Charlie Lake Cave." Canadian Journal of Archaeology/Journal Canadien d'Archeologie 32: 239-57. Evans, Larry. 2008. "On the Trail of Earliest Man in March 1975." Alaska Highway News, 2008. Finlay, F. 1976. "A Summary of Fur-Trade History In the Peace River District of British Columbia -1794-1824." Unpublished. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. Fladmark, Knut R. 1980. "Paleo-Indian Artifacts from the Peace River District." BC Studies 48 (Journal Article): 124. - - - . 1985. "Early Fur-Trade Forts of the Peace River Area of British Columbia." BC Studies 65: 48. Goddard, Pliny Earle. 1916. The Beaver Indians. Vol. 10. Part 4. New York: The American Museum of Natural History. Harmon, Daniel Williams. 1957. Harmon's Journal, 1800-1819. Edited by W. Kaye Lamb. 1st TouchWood. Victoria, B.C: TouchWood Editions. Havlik Metes Limited. 2014. "Specific Claim of the West Moberly First Nation Concerning the Impact of the W.A.A. Bennett Dam: Historical Facts and Legal Argument." Submitted to the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Fort St. John, British Columbia. Hudons Hope Historical Society. 1981. Vesta Gething interview. Item AAAB4928: T3960:0001, T3960:0002. BC Archives. Hunter, Gerry. 2013. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal.
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Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. 1962. "Fort St. John Agency Report." Appendix 159. Pacific Federal Records Centre, British Columbia, Burnaby. RG 10, Accession #V87-88/284 Vol 1 File 975/1-2, p. 1. Library and Archives Canada. Ingold, T. (2000). The Perception of the Environment Essays on Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill, Routledge, New York. Krech Ill, Shepard. 1983. "The Beaver Indians and the Hostilities at Fort St. John's." Arctic Anthropology 20 (2): 35-45. Leonard, David. 1995. Delayed Frontier: The Peace River Country to 1909. Book, Whole. Calgary: Detselig Enterprises Ltd. MacGregor, J.G. 1970. The Klondike Rush through Edmonton 1897-1898. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart. Mackenzie, Alexander. 1962. First Man West: Alexander Mackenzie's Journal of His Voyage to the Pacific Coast of Canada in 1793. Edited by Walter Sheppe. Berkeley: University of California Press. Mair, Charles. 1908. Through the Mackenzie Basin: An Account of the Signing of Treaty No. 8 and the Script Commission. Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta Press. Miller, Bruce. 2013. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal.
v. Her Majesty the Queen in the
P01. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. P02. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Paddle for the Peace. 2006. "West Moberly First Nation Opposed to Proposed Power Dam." Turtle Island, July 15, 2006. Available online at: ht1p://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4667&start=0%20 See%20Appendix#p 7157. Province of British Columbia. 1962. "In the Matter of the 'B.C. Water Act', and In the Matter of the Application of the B.C. Hydro and Power Authority for a License to Divert and Store Water Out of the Peace River and Its Tributaries." Proceedings. Chetwynd, B.C. GR 0880 Box 60 P-19. BC Archives.
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Ridington, Robin. 1979. "Changes of Mind: Dunne-Za Resistance to Empire." BC Studies 43 (Journal Article): 65. - - - . 1981. "Beaver." In Handbook of North American Indians, edited by J. Helm, Volume 6: Subarctic:350-60. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. - - - . 1987. "From Hunt Chief to Prophet: Beaver Indian Dreamers and Christianity." Arctic Anthropology 24 (1): 8-18. - - - . 1990. Little Bit Know Something: Stories in a Language of Anthropology. 1st ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. - - - . 2011. "When You Sing It Now, Just Like New." Anthropology and Humanism 36 (1 ): 18-24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1409.2011.01 075.x. Ridington, Robin, and Jillian Ridington. 2013. Where Happiness Dwells: A History of the Dane-Zaa First Nations. Vancouver: UBC Press. Scott, R.W. 1966. "Order in Council Setting Up Commission for Treaty 8." In Treaty No. 8, Made June 21, 1899 and Adhesions, Reports, Etc. Roger Duhamel F.R.S. C. Ottawa: Queens Printer. Stewart, Pamela J., and Andrew Strathern. 2003. Landscape, Memory and History: Anthropological Perspectives. Book, Whole. London: Pluto. Tobias, Terry N. 2000. Chief Kerry's Moose: A Guidebook to Land Use and Occupancy Mapping, Research Design, and Data Collection. Vancouver: Union of BC Indian Chiefs: Ecotrust Canada. Union of BC Indian Chiefs. 1980. "Final Submission on the Northeast B.C. Land Use and Occupancy Study." Prepared for the Department of Indian Affairs. Vancouver, B.C. W01. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. - - - . 2018. Interview for the West Moberly First Nations Supplemental Knowledge and Use Study. West Moberly First Nations. W02, and W03. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association.
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W04, and W05. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. W06, and W07. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. W08. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. - - - . 2018. Interview for the West Moberly First Nations Supplemental Knowledge and Use Study. West Moberly First Nations. W09. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. W12. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. W16. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. W17. 2011. Interview for Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation, Halfway River First Nation, and West Moberly First Nations: Traditional Land Use Study Data and Methodology Report for BC Hydro's Proposed Site C Project. Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. - - - . 2018. Interview for the West Moberly First Nations Supplemental Knowledge and Use Study. West Moberly First Nations. West Moberly First Nations. 2014. ""We're Completely Surrounded": Preliminary Report on the Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components from the the
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Aitken Section of the Proposed North Montney Pipeline Project." Moberly Lake, British Columbia. https://apps.nebone.gc.ca!REGDOCS/File/Download/2508762. Willson, Betty. 2013. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. Willson, Clarence. 2012. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. - - - . 2013. Affidavit. West Moberly First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. Wolf, Liza. 2011. Interview for the Treaty 8 Tribal Association Oral History Project. West Moberly First Nations. - - - . 2012. Affidavit. Saulteau First Nations v. Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Canada. Specific Claims Tribunal. Yerbury, J. C. 1986. The Subarctic Indians and the Fur Trade, 1680-1860. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
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APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW GUIDE Interview Guide for West Moberly First Nations Supplemental Knowledge and Use Study for BC Hydro's Site C Project This guide includes: Interview questions • Mapping notes • Mapping codes 1. INTRODUCTION [Complete the interview checklist, then read with AUDIO & VIDEO RECORDERS ON at the start of each interview.] Today is [DATE]. We are interviewing [PARTICIPANT NAME] for the West Moberly First Nations Supplemental Knowledge and Use Study for BC Hydro's Site C Project (The Project). Thank you for coming. My name is [NAME] and my co-researcher(s) is/are [NAME]. We're at the [BUILDING/OFFICE] in [COMMUNITY] in [REGION/PROVINCE]. [PARTICIPANT NAME] has read and signed the consent forms, and we have assigned him/her participant ID [NUMBER]. We have explained the purpose of the study, mapping process, and interview plan. We will be mapping in Google Earth at 1:50,000 or better. Primary Goal: to document community knowledge and use in the area of the proposed Project. We'd like to know how you have used these areas, as well as what you may know about how community members have used them in the past.
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2. BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE Personal Information • Full name? • Place of birth? Age and year of birth? • Where you were raised? • Membership of First Nation? • Parents' and grandparents' names?
General Use Questions Have you ever used the area around the proposed Project, or areas nearby? • For hunting I trapping I fishing I camping I plant gathering I passing on traditional knowledge or language I gatherings or ceremonies • If yes o When? o What do you do there? o Who with? o How did you learn about this area? • If no, why?
Have your family or community members ever used the area around the proposed Project, or areas nearby? • If yes o What activities did they do there? • If no, why? Is the Project area important to you I your family I your community? Why? Relevant Information to include How they learned about the Project area First-hand experience Second hand knowledge .(map with *) Trapline number(s) of individual I family members Other named family members Remember to spell out all proper names
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3. HABITATION Permanent Habitation (PX) & Temporary Habitation (TX)
Can you show us places you have stayed overnight? Examples: a cabin you built or used, campsite, tent, other temporary or permanent structures • How many times have you stayed there? Once or short-term (less than 3 days): TX More than once or long-term (more than 3 days): PX • When did you first stay there? • When was the last time you stayed there? Suggested Prompts Describe the location I the conditions Why do you go there? How did you find out about this place? I Who showed it to you? What do you like about the place? What activities do you do when staying there? What does this place mean to you? Is this place important to you I your family I community? Why? Is this place important to sustaining your cu~ure I way of life? How? . Do you teach younger generations there? (map as TA) How would you explain the importance of this place to the government I industry? 4. TRAVEL ROUTES Trail (TR) Can you show us routes you have travelled by foot, quad, snowmobile or truck etc? (usually for hunting, trapping, gathering plants, accessing camping or fishing areas etc, rather than driving on a highway) • When did you first use this route? • When did you last use this route? • What did you use this route for? (e.g. For hunting or plant gathering, or to reach fishing, camping, or other locations)
Can you show us old trails that have been used by community members? (map with ') • When was this route used? • Who was using this route? • What did they use it for? (e.g. For hunting or plant gathering, or to reach fishing or camping sites, or other locations) Water Route (WR) Can you show us routes you have travelled along creeks, lakes or rivers by boat? • When did you first use this route? • When did you last use this route? • What did you use this route for? (e.g. for hunting, fishing, or to reach camp sites of other locations)
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Can you show us old water routes that used to be used by community members? (map with ') • When was this route used? • Who was using this route? • What did they use it for? (e.g. for hunting, fishing, or to reach camp sites of other locations) Travel routes and all linear features should be controlled Follow the actual route and natural features (not a straight line from A to B) Include relevant modifiers after the site code (', ?, +,$) Suggested Prompts How did you Jearn about this route? What do you do when you are travelling along here? Is this the only routeto gettrorn point A to B, oris there an alternative? was this a new route,.or a well-travelled, well-recognized route? is this route important to you I your family/ community? Why? Is this route important to sustaining your culture I way of life? ·. What is the farthest point that you have travelled along this route?
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5. HUNTING, TRAPPING, FISHING & GATHERING PLANTS AND RESOURCES [See codes at back of this guide for species - these may also be used as prompts] Hunting and Trapping Can you show us places where you have killed or trapped mammals or birds? [Prompt by most important species first, e.g. moose, elk, deer, bear... See codes at the back of this guide] For each: o Which species? o When? o Why? (e.g. to feed you I your family I your community, or for other uses such as medicines, crafts, ceremonies, sale) Fishing Can you show us places where you have caught fish? • For each: o Which species? o When? o Why? (e.g. to feed you I your family I your community, or for other uses such as for medicines, ceremonies, sale, or simply to enjoy fishing I catch-and-release) [NB: Didn't catch anything and catch-and-release should be marked as EF]
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Suggested prompts Why do you hunt I trap I fish? Who taught you how to hunt I trap I fish? Where? [mark as TA] Have you taught anyone how to hunt I trap I fish? Who? Where? [mark as TAl How important are these animals I birds I fish to your daily life? What did you do with the meat or fur? How many people can an .animal feed? For how long? (individual I family I community) What does It mean to you to be able to hunt I trap I fish? Are these animals I birds I fish important to sustaining your culture I way of life? How? How would you explain the importance of these animals !birds I fish to the government I industry? Are any of these animals I birds I fish hard to find? Which ones? Harvesting Berries I Other Plants I Fungi Can you show us places where you've collected: o berries or other food plants? o medicine plants? o mushrooms or other fungi? o plants for crafts or other uses?
•
For each: o Which species? o When? o Why? (e.g. to feed you I your family I your community, or for other uses such as medicines, crafts, ceremonies, sale)
Gathering Other Resources Can you show us places where you've collected: o water? o any other resources? (e.g. rocks, feathers, antlers) • For each: o When? o Why? (e.g. for use by you I your family I your community, or for medicines, crafts, ceremonies, sale) 0
SUGGESTED PROMPTS FOR DETAILED KNOWLEDGE AND USE How important are these medicines I plants !fungi! resources to your daily life? Who taught you about collecting and using medicine I plants I fungi I resources? Where? [mark as TA] Have you taught anyone about collecting and using medicine I plants I fungi I resources? Who? Where? [mark as TA] Are these medicines I plants I fungi I resources important to sustaining your culture I way of life? How? How. would you explain the importance of these medicines I plants I fungi I resources to the government! industry? Are any of these medicines I plants I fungi I resources hard to find outside of the Project area and nearby areas? · ·
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Who were you with when gathering plants I fungi I other resources? Species, if applicable? 6. ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES Environmental Features (EF) Can you show us the locations of good habitat or environmental features that are important for mammals I birds I fish I plants? Examples: calving or mating areas, mineral licks, fish spawning areas Environmental Feature Corridor (EC) Can you show us routes that animals use to move across the area? 7. CULTURAL USE Gathering Place (GP) Can you show us important places where your community holds or attends gatherings? Examples: pow wows, rodeos, Treaty celebrations • When? • Who? (e.g. Use by you I your family members I your community I many communities) • What happened there? Ceremonial Place (CP) Can you show us places that are used for ceremonies? Examples: cultural dances, sweat lodges • When? • Who? (e.g. Use by you I your family members I your community I many communities) • What happened there? Teaching Area (TA) Can you show us places that are used for teaching knowledge to children or others? When? • Who? (e.g. use by you I your family members I your community I many communities?) • What was taught there? How?
Can you show us any places that have special knowledge or stories associated with them? Examples: creation stories, dreamer stories, histories Who told you about this place and the stories? When? Burial (BU) Can you show us places where members of your First Nation are buried or where their remains are (e.g. cremation)? • Know firsthand or heard from family I community members? Spirit (SP) Can you show us places where spirit beings live or there are special rules about how you act or respect the place? • Know firsthand or heard from family I community members?
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Place Name (PN) Can you show us any places that have special place names? [include the place name and translation in Google Earth description field] fnt::lude for each mapped site in Goog/e Earth description field of the dialogue box First and last use (day I month I season AND year I decade)
8. IMPAIRED USE Specific and general impaired use due to impacts from industry and other environmental or social changes General impaired use (GL) & Specific impaired use (SL) Can you show us any general areas or specific sites where you used to hunt I gather I fish I camp/ practice other rights, but do not go anymore because of impacts from industry or other reasons? • What did you used to do there? Why? (e.g. hunting because there were lots of moose) • When did you last use that place? • Why did you stop using that place? Include for each mapped site in Google Earth description field of the dialogue box First and last use (day I month I season AND year I decade} Reason for avoidance · SUGGESTED PROMPTS FOR DETAILED KNOWLEDGE AND USE Why can you no longer go to this area? What activities did you used to do in this area? How often did you go to or use this area? Can you do those activities somewhere else? How does it maj<e you feel that you can no longer go to or use this area? How has the loss of use impacted you I your family I your community? Has the loss of use Impacted your culture I way of life? How? How would you explain the importance of this area to the government/ industry? How would you explain the impact that not being able to use the area has had on you to the government I Industry? · . 9. KNOWLEDGE OF USE BY OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS [Map with'] After you have covered a participant's personal use, and if there is still time, you may want to ask about their knowledge of how other community members use the area. You may do this particularly for important areas, if the participant does not have much personal experience of an area, or if you are trying to collect historical use data. Can you show us places where members of your family or community or your ancestors have: Camped or stayed in cabins? • Killed or trapped animals or birds? • Caught fish? • Collected berries I plants I fungi I water I other resources?
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• • •
Attended ceremonies or gatherings? Travelled across the area? Other activities?
10. PROJECT IMPACT QUESTIONS [Make sure industry data and participant's mapped sites are on the screen] [Refer back to the participant's use in the Study area, e.g. if they do a lot of fishing] Based on your understanding of the Project, do you think it will affect: • your ability to enjoy your Treaty rights or way of life? • your children's or grandchildren's ability to enjoy their Treaty rights or way of life? • If so, how so?
What do you think the most important issues are for your community to focus on in relation to the proposed Project? Are there any other important places or issues related to the Project that you think we should be documenting today? Are there other community members that we should talk to? [Note: You may want to ask some of these questions earlier in the interview, for example if a participant has talked a lot about moose hunting in the Study area, ask them if they think the Project will impact their hunting, and why.] 11 . CONCLUSION [Read with audio & video recorders on after every session] Today is [DATE]. We have just finished interviewing [PARTICIPANT NAME] for the West Moberly First Nations Supplemental Knowledge and Use Study for BC Hydro's Site C Project (The Project).
My name is [NAME], my co-researcher is [NAME] and we are here at [OFFICE/BUILDING] in [COMMUNITY!TOWN]. We've given [PARTICIPANT NAME] participant ID [#]. We've mapped a total of [#] sites in Google Earth at 1:50,000 or better, and recorded a total of[#] tracks on the digital recorder. Notes are recorded in/on [NOTEBOOK/COMPUTER]. This interview has taken approximately[#] hours [#] minutes.
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APPENDIX 2: RACHEL OLSON CV Rachel Olson, PhD
34-555 Raven Woods Drive, North Vancouver, British Columbia, V7G OA4 E-mail: racheleolson@gmail.com Cell: (778) 686-4547
EDUCATION Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, 2013 Master of Research in Social Anthropology, Ethnology and Cultural History with Distinction, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, 2003 Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with Distinction, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, 1999
EXPERT EXPERIENCE Current member of the Expert Panel on Integrated Natural Resource Management for the Council of Canadian Academies. Feb 2017 -present. Expert and co-author of the Joint Expert Report on behalf of Buffalo River Dene Nation for the Department of Justice's Primose Lake Air Weapons range. January 2017present. Expert testimony on behalf of Saulteau First Nations at the National Energy Board hearings for the TransCanada North Montney Mainline hearings. 2015. Expert testimony on behalf of the Tlicho Government at the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board for Fortune Minerals NICO Project hearing. 2013.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY The Firelight Group- North Vancouver, BC President (2015 to Present) and Director (2009 to Present)
Responsible, as co-founder and director, for helping establish The Firelight Group, a firm of aboriginal and non-aboriginal professionals specialized in providing respectful and respected environmental and social science research, consulting, and support services in processes where aboriginal and non-aboriginal interests interact, and where good relationships are desired by all sides. Tasks include business development, as well as design, development, and delivery of technical services including communitybased traditional knowledge research and documentation systems, environmental and
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socio-cultural impact assessments and monitoring programs, indigenous land use mapping, GIS technical support and training, archival research, community involvement processes, and First Nations consultation support services. National Aboriginal Health Organization - Ottawa, ON Research Officer (2007 to 2008)
As a member of the First Nations Centre research team, my primary research areas were the topics of maternity care and environmental health. Also held the research proposal development and workshop development files. Tasks included primary research, technical writing, and participating in various committees and workshops across Canada. Was primary author of NAHO's series entitled, "Celebrating Birth". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Paris, France Consultant (2006-2007)
Worked with the LINKS (Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems) program in the Science Sector and facilitated on-going projects with indigenous communities in New Zealand, Micronesia, and Central America. Also focused on proposal development and editing and publishing various LINKS documents, including edited volumes. School of Nursing Research, University of British Columbia -Vancouver, BC Social Science Researcher (2004-2005)
Position of Health Research Associate for the research project, "Access to Primary Care Services for Aboriginal People in an Urban Centre." Duties include literature reviews, project coordination, and data collection, including participant observation of an Emergency Department, and in-depth interviews with aboriginal patients and health professionals. Ecotrust Canada- Vancouver, BC Aboriginal Mapping Network Coordinator (2003-2004)
Managed the Aboriginal Mapping Network program by meeting and engaging with likeminded individuals and organizations at various conferences and workshops. Coordinated of over 120 aboriginal mapping professionals from across North America, Malaysia and Panama for the "Mapping for Communities: First Nations, GIS and the Big Picture" conference, held on November 20-21, 2003 in Duncan, BC. Conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the Aboriginal Mapping Network. Dene Tha' First Nation - Chateh, AB Data Collection Manager (2001 to 2003)
Developed and implemented Traditional Use Study in two First Nations communities, Chateh and Meander River. Included developing research design, methodology,
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training community researchers, and reporting to the Steering Committee of the Dene Tha' Consultation Pilot Project. Treaty 8 Tribal Association - Fort St. John, BC
Interview Coordinator (1999-2000) Coordinated land use mapping and life history interviews with community researchers in two communities, Halfway River and Doig River, focusing on qualitative methods and mapping processes. PROJECT EXPERIENCE- TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE (TEK) AND TRADITIONAL USE STUDIES (TUS)
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Ochiichagwe'babigo'ining Ojibway Nation Knowledge and Use $coping Study for TransCanada Pipelines Ltd.'s Proposed Energy East Project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Shoal Lake #40 First Nation Knowledge and Use $coping Study for TransCanada Pipelines Ltd.'s Proposed Energy East Project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Blueberry River First Nation Knowledge and Use Study for BC Hydro's proposed Peace Region Electricity Supply (PRES) project. Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Eabametoong First Nation Knowledge and Use $coping Study for Greenstone Gold Mines GP Inc.'s Proposed Hardrock Project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Eabametoong First Nation Knowledge and Use Desktop for Wataynikaneyap Power's Proposed Transmission Project. Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the McLeod Lake Indian Band Knowledge and Use Study for BC Hydro's proposed Peace Region Electricity Supply (PRES) project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's Framework for the Consideration and Integration of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge in Federal Environmental Assessment project. Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Musqueam Indian Band Marine Shipping Effects Assessment Study for Port Metro Vancouver's proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Nadleh Whut'en First
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Nation Knowledge and Use Study for New Gold's proposed Blackwater Gold project. •
Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement Knowledge and Use Study specific to Trans Canada Pipelines Ltd.'s Proposed 2017 NGTL System Expansion project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Brunswick House, Chapleau Cree and Chapleau Ojibwe First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed Goldcorp Borden Gold project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Blueberry River First Nation (BRFN) Knowledge and Use Study for the Shell Canada's proposed and existing developments project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Mattagami First Nation (MFN) Traditional Knowledge and Use Study for Canadian National Railway's Two Train Derailments.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the T'Sou-ke Nation's Traditional Marine Knowledge and Use Study (TUS) for the Kinder Morgan's proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Shackan Indian Band Knowledge and Use Study (TUS) for the Kinder Morgan's proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project. Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Wabun Tribal Council Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed Trans Canada Energy East Pipeline project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Eabametoong First Nation Knowledge and Use Study.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Samson Cree Nation Knowledge and Use Study for the Enbridge's proposed Edmonton to Hardisty (E2H) pipeline project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Peter's Band Traditional Use Study (TUS) for the Kinder Morgan's proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Blueberry River First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed TransCanada Merrick Mainline project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Blueberry River First
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Nations Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed Trans Canada North Montney Mainline project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Mikisew Cree First Nation Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed Athabasca Oil Hangingstone SAGO Expansion project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Blueberry River First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed TransCanada Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Saulteau First Nations knowledge and use review for Trans Canada's proposed North Montney Mainline Project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the McLeod Lake Indian Band Knowledge and Use Study for EDF Taylor Wind Farm.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the McLeod Lake Indian Band Knowledge and Use Study for EDF Sundance Wind Farm.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the McLeod Lake Indian Band Knowledge and Use Study for Glencore Xstrata Sukunka Coal Mine. Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Saulteau First Nations knowledge and use study for 3 proposed pipeline projects: TransCanada's proposed Coastal GasLink and Prince Rupert Gas Transmission projects, and Spectra's proposed Westcoast Connector pipeline project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Saulteau First Nations knowledge and use study for 4 wind energy projects: EDF Taylor, EDF Sundance, Boralex!Aeolis Babcock Creek Ridge, and Boralex!Aeolis Moose Lake Ridge wind projects.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Saulteau First Nations knowledge and use study for HD Mining International Ltd.'s proposed Murray River Coal Mine project. Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Big Grassy River First Nation Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed New Gold Mine Project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Blueberry River First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed TransCanada Coastal GasLink pipeline project.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Buffalo River Dene Nation joint expert report for the Primose Lake Air Weapons Range in Saskatchewan.
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Co-author and Principal Investigator for the Doig River First Nation TransCanada - Aitken Pipeline traditional use study.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation Initial Knowledge and Use Scoping and Mapping Study for three properties belonging to Hudbay Minerals.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Tlicho Government indigenous knowledge study for the Fortune Minerals NICO project.
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Senior Researcher for the Mikisew Cree First Nation coordinated Indigenous Knowledge (/K) study for the Athabasca oil sands region. Senior Researcher for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation coordinated indigenous knowledge (/K) study for the Athabasca oil sands region.
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Senior Researcher for the Treaty 8 Tribal Association Traditional Knowledge, Use and Occupancy Study for the Proposed 'Site C' Area along the Peace River.
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Senior Researcher for the Mikisew Cree First Nation Indigenous Knowledge study for assessing Shell-specific oil sands development projects near Fort McKay.
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Senior Researcher for the Mikisew Cree First Nation use and interests assessment for Shell's Jackpine Mine Expansion project and Pierre River Mine project.
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Senior Researcher for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation TEK/TUS project involving documentation of community use and interests assessment for the Total Jocelyn Oil Sands Mining project near Fort McKay.
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Senior Researcher for the Ktunaxa Nation Council TEK/TUS component of an environmental impact assessment for Teck Coal's proposed mining project.
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Senior Researcher for UNESCO-LINKS project, and coordinated the Maori language version of the CD-ROM project, The Canoe is the People, entitled He Waka He Tangata.
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Senior Research Manager for the Dene Tha' Nation, and developed and implemented Traditional Use Study in two First Nations communities, Chateh and Meander River. Included developing research design, methodology, training community researchers, and reporting to the Steering Committee of the Dene Tha' Consultation Pilot Project.
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Senior Researcher for Halfway River First Nation, coordinated land use mapping and life history interviews with community researchers. Included
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training in qualitative methodologies and mapping processes. •
Researcher for Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation, Oral History Project focused on collecting life history interviews with elders, and stories of life in fish camps along the Yukon River.
PROJECT EXPERIENCE- HEALTH AND SOCIAL
Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the First Nations Health Authority Nutrition Service Delivery Model for the Northern region of FNHA. •
Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Community Midwives Association of Yukon ethno-historical study of midwifery and maternal health care in First Nations community in the Yukon Territory.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Shanti Uganda Propelling Motherhood project, a rural-based health intervention using mobile health data collection methods.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre, for the development of community-based evaluation of the Family Literacy programs on First Nation reserves in Manitoba. Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives reports, toolkits, and various other resources.
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Lead Author and Principal Investigator for the National Aboriginal Health Organization Celebrating Birth series on maternal health. Senior Researcher for Opaskwayak Cree Nation, conducting of interviews for a qualitative study on mother's experiences of childbirth from a northern Manitoban community.
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Senior Researcher for the Red Road HIV/AIDS Network for the "Mapping the Road to Healthier Communities Project".
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Senior Researcher for the Mother Saradadevi Social Service Society, conducted a baseline survey of youth and sexual health issues to aid in the development and implementation of prevention programmes in the district.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS- TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE (TEK) AND TRADITIONAL USE STUDIES (TUS) Peer Reviewed
Olson, Rachel, Jeffrey Hackett, and Steven DeRoy. (2016) Mapping the Digital Terrain: Towards Indigenous Geographic Information and Spatial Data Quality Indicators for
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Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Land-Use Data Collection. The Cartographic Journal. Corbett J. M., Giacomo Rambaldi, Peter A. Kwaku Kyem, Daniel Weiner, Rachel Olson, Julius Muchemi and Robert Chambers (2006). Overview- Mapping for Change the emergence of a new practice." Participatory Learning and Action 54. 13-20. Candler, Craig, Rachel Olson, Steven DeRoy, and Kieran Broderick. (2006). PGIS as a Sustained (and Sustainable?) Practice: The Case of Treaty 8 BC. Participatory Learning and Action 54. Guest Editor. Participatory Learning and Action. Issue 54, April 2006. International Institute for Environment and Development. London, UK. Olson, Rachel. Contributor to Encyclopedia of the Arctic. 2003. Ed. Mark Nutall. Fitzroy Dearborn, Routledge: New York, NY.
Reports- Selected Olson, Rachel and Peter Bates. Saulteau First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. Coastal Gaslink Pipeline Project. Submitted to Saulteau First Nations, BC. 2013. Olson, Rachel and Steven DeRoy. Blueberry First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. Coastal Gaslink Pipeline Project. Submitted to Blueberry First Nations, BC. 2013. Olson, Rachel and Peter Bates. (2013) Saulteau First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. Coastal Gaslink Pipeline Project. Submitted to Saulteau First Nations, BC. Olson, Rachel and Steven DeRoy. (2013) Blueberry First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. Coastal Gaslink Pipeline Project. Submitted to Blueberry First Nations, BC. Candler, Craig and Rachel Olson. (2013). Mikisew Cree First Nation Indigenous Knowledge and Use Report and Assessment for Southern Pacific Resource Corp. STP McKay Thermal Project- Phase 2. Submitted to the Mikisew Cree First Nation Government and Industry Relations, Fort McMurrary, AB. Olson, Rachel and Georgina Chocolate. (2012). Asi Edee T'seda Dile: Tlicho Nation Traditional Knowledge and Use Study. Tlicho Government: Yellowknife, NWT. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS- HEALTH AND SOCIAL
Peer Reviewed Olson, Rachel and Carol Couchie. Returning birth: the politics of midwifery implementation on First Nations reserves in Canada. Midwifery, Volume 29, Issue 8, Pages 981-987.2013.
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Olson, Rachel. Bodies of Water: exploring birthplace and ceremony in Manitoba, Canada. Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health, Volume 10, Issue 3. 2013. Olson, Rachel, Kerry Bebee, Jasmine Benedict, Ellen Blais, Evelyn Harney, and Sara Wolfe. Introduction: prioritizing indigenous maternal and Infant health. Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health, Volume 10, Issue 3. 2013 Book chapters
Olson, Rachel. (2017). Bearing witness: rural Indigenous women's experiences of childbirth in an urban hospital. In, Indigenous Experiences of Pregnancy and Birth. University of Toronto: Demeter Press. Olson, Rachel. Restoring the Connection: Exploring Aboriginal midwifery and the context of the relocation tor childbirth and in First Nation communities in Canada. In, The Cultural Politics of Reproduction: Migration, Health and Family Making. UnnithanKumar, Maya, and Sunil Khana (eds). Berg hahn Books: Oxford. 2015. Reports
Olson, Rachel. The Landscape of Midwifery Care tor Aboriginal Communities in Canada: A discussion paper to support culturally safe midwifery care for Aboriginal communities. National Aboriginal Council of Midwives: Montreal, Canada. 2016. Olson, Rachel and Carol Griffin. (201 2). An Evaluation of Midwifery Services in Manitoba. Midwives Association of Manitoba for Manitoba Health. Winnipeg, Manitoba. Olson, Rachel and Carol Couchie. (2010). Clearing the Path: An Implementation Plan for Midwifery Services in First Nations and Inuit Communities. Ottawa: Government of Canada. National Aboriginal Health Organization. (2009). Celebrating Birth- Aboriginal Midwifery in Canada. Ottawa: National Aboriginal Health Organization. [Primary Author] National Aboriginal Health Organization. 2008. Celebrating Birth - Exploring the Role of Social Support in Labour and Delivery for First Nations Women and Families. Ottawa: National Aboriginal Health Organization. [Primary Author] Olson, Rachel. (2008). Exploring the Potential Role of Doulas and Doula Training for the Children and Youth Division of First Nations and Inuit Health, Health Canada. Ottawa: Government of Canada. Internal circulation only. Guest Editor. Bloodlines Magazine. Issue 5: Spring 2005. Red Road HIV/AIDS Network Society. West Vancouver, BC. CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS
Keynote Presenter, 2017 Indigenous Mapping Workshop, October 2017 in Winnipeg, Manitoba
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Paper presentation, Normal Birth and Labour Conference, October 2017 in GrangeOver-Sands, UK. Presentation, Centre for Reproduction, Technology and Health at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Presenter, 2016 Indigenous Mapping Workshop, October 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia Keynote Presenter, 2015 Indigenous Mapping Workshop, July 28-30, 2015 in Waterloo, Ontario Paper presentation. International Congress of Midwives Conference, July 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic. Plenary presentation. Canadian Association of Midwives Annual Conference. Ottawa, th Canada. November 7 , 2013. Paper presentation. Annual Conference of the Canadian Association of Social and Cultural Anthropologists. May 8th, 2013. University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C. Paper presentation, Uncertainty and Disquiet: 12th European Association of Social Anthropologists Association. Paris, France, July, 2012. Presenter, Workshop on Indigenous Mapping and Cartography. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, France, November, 2007. Keynote Presenter, Mapping for Change, September 7- 11, 2005 in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa Participant of Strategic Planning Sessions, ESRI International User Conference, July 2004 in San Diego, California Paper presentation, Indigenous Communities Mapping Initiative Conference, March 10 - 15, 2004 in Vancouver, British Columbia Paper presentation, Breaking the Ice: Transcending Borders through Collaboration and Interdisciplinary Research, 7th ACUNS Student Conference on Northern Studies, October 24-26, 2003 at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta OTHER INFORMATION
Research Associate at the Centre for Cultures of Reproduction, Technology and Health at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. Received the 2009 Scientific Director's Award for excellence in Aboriginal Health Research at the Graduate level from CIHR- Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health.
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Honourable Mention. Council for Anthropology and Reproduction Graduate Student Paper Prize. 2012. Registered member of the Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation.
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APPENDIX 3: STEVEN DEROY CV Steve DeRoy, MSc 34-555 Raven Woods Drive, North Vancouver, British Columbia, V7G OA4 E-mail: steve.deroy@gmail.com Cell: (778) 980-4547
Education Master of Science in Geographic Information Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom, 2012 GIS/Cartographic Technology, Sir Sandford Fleming College, Lindsay, Ontario, 1998
Employment History The Firelight Group- Vancouver, BC Director (2009 to present)
Responsible, as co-founder, director, and past president, for helping establish The Firelight Group, a firm of aboriginal and non-aboriginal professionals specialized in providing respectful and respected environmental and social science research, consulting, and support services in processes where aboriginal and non-aboriginal interests interact, and where good relationships are desired by all sides. Tasks include business development, as well as design, development, and delivery of technical services including community-based traditional knowledge research and documentation systems, environmental and socio-cultural impact assessments and monitoring programs, indigenous land use mapping, GIS technical support and training, research, community involvement processes, and First Nations consultation support services.
Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources- Winnipeg, MB Research Associate! GIS Specialist (2007 to 2010)
As a Research Associate/GIS Specialist, my primary role was to build a mapping and GIS service at CIER that would support both internal staff and external clients with technical, advisory and professional support on a range of projects. Responsible for design, development, and oversight of an Ontario-wide risk assessment inventory of fuel systems and waste site inventory project; managed, researched and documented good practices for setting up GIS offices in Aboriginal communities across Canada (this resulted in publication of "Good Practices Guide: Setting up and keeping an Aboriginal Mapping Program."); conducted an assessment of land use planning issues for First Nations in Ontario; coordinated an indigenous place names mapping initiative for the Little Grand Rapids First Nation; GIS data manager for the Pimachiowin Aki world
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FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORJCALAND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
heritage site nomination; development of environmental monitoring tools for the Mikisew Cree First Nation; species at risk tool development using CyberTracker software; delivery of comprehensive community planning services; advisory support to Clean Energy and Community Adaptation Program; and internal IT liaison. Clients included First Nations, lvey Foundation, RBC Blue Water Foundation, INAC, Parks Canada, and GeoConnections/ Natural Resources Canada. Treaty 8 Tribal Association- Fort St. John, BC GIS Advisor (2005 to 2006)
Provided mapping and GIS advisory support to six member First Nation communities (Fort Nelson, Prophet River, Halfway River, Doig River, Saulteau, and the West Moberly First Nations), chiefs and councils, internal staff, and to the Treaty 8 negotiations team. Aided in the storing and mapping of traditional use information and maintained a comprehensive digital data library containing numerous datasets from diverse government agencies, conservationists & industry; expedited the consultation referral and permitting process through ongoing training and technical support for Treaty 8 land use offices; researched, wrote proposals and secured funding for an online mapping application; participated In joint planning and management activities involving government agencies, industry and Treaty 8 First Nations; and acted as Information Technology manager for 25 client users. Red Road HIV/AIDS Network- West Vancouver, BC GIS Technician/Consultant (2004 to 2007)
Managed the web-based mapping system, utilizing ESRI's ArciMS software, to map out the locations of HIV and AIDS service organizations throughout the province of British Columbia. Also designed and developed 30,000 map guides highlighting HIV/AIDS and health services for both the city of Vancouver and northern British Columbia; represented the Red Road interactive mapping project at various conferences, workshops and meetings; and coordinated the redesign and maintenance of www.redroad.org. Ecotrust Canada- Vancouver, BC Aboriginal Mapping Network Coordinator and GIS Mapping Analyst (2002-2004)
Manager for the Aboriginal Mapping Network, with responsibilities including management of program initiatives, presentation of the program to funders, members, and organizations at various conferences and workshops, and co-facilitatation of two workshops with national and international participation addressing issues of concern to aboriginal mappers. Supported identification of funding sources relating to land use and occupancy research (this resulted in publication of "A New Trail: Fund raising for Cultural Research and Land Use and Occupancy Studies -A Reference Guide For Securing Funds."), provided mapping and GIS training and technical support to First Nation communities involved with developing land use plans and bioregional atlases, and maintained the Ecotrust Canada and Aboriginal Mapping Network websites
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(www.nativemaps.org). DrakeGIS & Mapping Ltd.- Kelowna, BC
Marketing Manager (2000 to 2002) Assisted in the development of the company in response to the increasing need for mapping and GIS services in BC. Cultivated strategic affiliatior1s ar1d joir~t ver~tures with small cor~sultir~g compar1ies ar1d First Natior~ bar~ds; researched, ider~tified ar~d wrote proposals for cor~tract opportur~ities; project leader for a traditio rial use study for the Nazko Bar1d Govemmer~t; respor~sible for the completior~ of all mappir1g phases for fish & fish habitat ir~ver~tory mappir~g projects ar1d watershed assessmer1t maps for various clier~ts as well as admir~istrative duties. Urban Systems Ltd.- Kelowna, BC
G/S/Cartographic Technologist (1999) Performed tasks for the Digitallr~formatior~ Mar~agement ar~d Resource Systems (DIMARS) project ir1cludir1g editir~g watermair1, sar~itary sewer ar1d storm sewer drawir~gs usir~g AutoCAD 14; settir1g up databases for each drawir~g ir1 ArcView; ar1d lir1kir1g data to scar~r~ed drawir~gs ir1 PDF . Computer Master - Mississauga, ON
Microstation Operator (1999) Acted as a cor~sultarlt for the editir~g watermair~ plar~s ar~d updatir~g char~ges
made to
Regior~al Mur~icipality
files usir1g
waterplar~s
Of Peel by addir~g, updatir1g ar1d SE. lr~volved recordir~g ar~d ir1to graphic cor~versior1 databases usir~g Excel. MicroStatior~
Toronto Hydro Electric Commission - Scarborough, ON
CAD Operator (1999) ar~d created small site plar~s, sir~gle lir~e diagrams, ar1d updated ar~d revised files, strip maps ar~d subdivisiorl maps usir~g IRAS/B withirl MicroStatior1 SE. Also assisted ir1 trair1ir1g MicroStatior1 SE to co-op studer~ts.
Produced lar~dbase
Project Experience- Traditional Use Studies (TUS) and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Project Mar~ager, Ser~ior Researcher, GIS Mar~ager ar~d Co-Author for the Ochiichagwe'babigo'ining Ojibway Nation Knowledge and Use Scoping Study for TransCanada Pipelines Ltd.'s Proposed Energy East Project. â&#x20AC;˘
Project Mar~ager, Ser~ior Researcher, GIS Mar~ager ar~d Co-Author for the Shoal Lake #40 First Nation Knowledge and Use Scoping Study for TransCanada Pipelines Ltd.'s Proposed Energy East Project.
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Project Manager, Senior Researcher and GIS Manager for the Xatsull First Nation Socio- cultural and Economic Impact Assessment for Imperial Metals' Mount Polley Mine Dam Breach project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the Blueberry River First Nation Knowledge and Use Study for BC Hydro's proposed Peace Region Electricity Supply (PRES) project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the White River First Nation Knowledge and Use Study for Goldcorp Inc.'s proposed Road to the Coffee Gold project.
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Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the White River First Nation Knowledge and Use Study for K2 Gold Corporation's proposed Wets Property project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the Eabametoong First Nation Knowledge and Use Scoping Study for Greenstone Gold Mines GP Inc.'s Proposed Hardrock Project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the Eabametoong First Nation Knowledge and Use Desktop for Wataynikaneyap Power's Proposed Transmission Project.
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Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the McLeod Lake Indian Band Knowledge and Use Study for BC Hydro's proposed Peace Region Electricity Supply (PRES) project. Project Manager and Senior Researcher for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's Framework for the Consideration and Integration of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge in Federal Environmental Assessment project.
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Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Musqueam Indian Band Marine Shipping Effects Assessment Study for Port Metro Vancouver's proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project.
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Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the Nadleh Whut'en First Nation Knowledge and Use Study for New Gold's proposed Blackwater Gold project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher and GIS Manager for the Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement Knowledge and Use Study specific to TransCanada Pipelines Ltd.'s Proposed 2017 NGTL System Expansion project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher and GIS Manager for the Brunswick House, Chapleau Cree and Chapleau Ojibwe First Nations Knowledge and
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IfiNAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTOAICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
Use Study for the proposed Goldcorp Borden Gold project.
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Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the Blueberry River First Nation (BRFN) Knowledge and Use Study for the Shell Canada's proposed and existing developments project.
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Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the Mattagami First Nation (MFN) Traditional Knowledge and Use Study for Canadian National Railway's Two Train Derailments.
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Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Author for the Matachewan First Nation - An assessment of current traditional use study (TUS) datasets, and procedures for integrating TUS data into consultation processes project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the T'Sou-ke Nation's Traditional Marine Knowledge and Use Study (TUS) for the Kinder Morgan's proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Wabun Tribal Council Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed TransCanada Energy East Pipeline project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Eabametoong First Nation Knowledge and Use Study. Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Samson Cree Nation Knowledge and Use Study for the Enbridge's proposed Edmonton to Hardisty (E2H) pipeline project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the White River First Nation Traditional Use Study (TUS) and Assessment for the Kaminak Gold Corp's proposed Coffee Gold project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Peter's Band Traditional Use Study (TUS) for the Kinder Morgan's proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Blueberry River First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed TransCanada Merrick Mainline project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Blueberry River First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed TransCanada North Montney Mainline project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Mikisew Cree First Nation Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed Athabasca Oil Hangingstone SAGO Expansion project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Blueberry River First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed TransCanada Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project. Senior Researcher and GIS Manager for the Saulteau First Nations knowledge and use review for Trans Canada's proposed North Montney Mainline Project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the McLeod Lake Indian Band Knowledge and Use Study for EDF Taylor Wind Farm. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the McLeod Lake
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1 FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTOAICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
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Indian Band Knowledge and Use Study for EDF Sundance Wind Farm. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the McLeod Lake Indian Band Knowledge and Use Study for Glencore Xstrata Sukunka Coal Mine. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Saulteau First Nations knowledge and use study for 3 proposed pipeline projects: TransCanada 's proposed Coastal GasUnk and Prince Rupert Gas Transmission projects, and Spectra's proposed Westcoast Connector pipeline project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Saulteau First Nations knowledge and use study for 4 wind energy projects: EDF Taylor, EDF Sundance, Bora/ex!Aeolis Babcock Creek Ridge, and Bora/ex!Aeo/is Moose Lake Ridge wind projects. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Saulteau First Nations knowledge and use study for HD Mining International Ltd.'s proposed Murray River Coal Mine project. Senior Researcher and GIS Manager for the Big Grassy River First Nation Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed New Gold Mine Project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Blueberry River First Nations Knowledge and Use Study for the proposed Trans Canada Coastal GasUnk pipeline project. Project Manager and GIS Manager for the Buffalo River Dene Nation judicial review in Saskatchewan. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the Saulteau First Nations traditional use study data management project. Technical support and GIS Manager for the Doig River First Nation TransCanada -Aitken Pipeline traditional use study. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, and GIS Manager for the West Moberly First Nations Phase 2 - Strategic Advice Regarding WMFN Treaty Land Entitlement Negotiations. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Author for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Mikisew Cree First Nation Desktop Knowledge and Use Study for BC Hydro's Proposed 'Site C' Dam project. Senior Researcher, Technical support and GIS Manager for the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation Initial Knowledge and Use Scoping and Mapping Study for three properties belonging to Hudbay Minerals. Technical support and GIS Manager for the Saulteau First Nations Knowledge and Use Study of the proposed ZED Wind Farm. Technical support and GIS Manager for the Doig River First Nation Gordondale Pipeline traditional use study. Technical support and GIS Manager for the Tlicho Government indigenous knowledge study for the Fortune Minerals NICO project. Project Manager, Senior Researcher and GIS Manager for the Mikisew Cree First Nation coordinated Indigenous Knowledge (IK} study for the Athabasca oil sands region. Technical support and GIS Manager for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation coordinated indigenous knowledge (/K) study for the Athabasca oil sands region.
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Technical support and GIS Manager for the Saulteau First Nations Knowledge and Use Study of the proposed Wildmare Wind Farm. Senior Researcher and GIS Manager for the Treaty 8 Tribal Association Traditional Knowledge, Use and Occupancy Study for the Proposed 'Site C' Area along the Peace River. Technical support and training for the Fort Nelson First Nation Traditional Use Study program (2011-2012). Co-researcher and GIS Manager for the Mikisew Cree First Nation Indigenous Knowledge study for assessing Shell-specific oil sands development projects near Fort McKay. Technical support and training for the Tsleii-Waututh Nation Knowledge and Use Project (Marine and Foreshore). GIS Manager for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation TEK communitybased monitoring of Woodland Caribou and Wood Bison herds, funded in part by the Aboriginal Funds for Species at Risk Program (AFSAR). Co-researcher and GIS Manager for the Mikisew Cree First Nation use and interests assessment for Shell's Jackpine Mine Expansion project and Pierre River Mine project. Co-researcher and GIS Manager for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation TEK/TUS project involving documentation of community use and interests assessment for the Total Jocelyn Oil Sands Mining project near Fort McKay. GIS Manager for the development of relevant base maps and digitization of Traditional Ecological Knowledge data for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Mikisew Cree First Nation Athabasca River Use and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Study. GIS Manager and researcher for the Ktunaxa Nation Council TEK/TUS component of an environmental impact assessment for Teck Coal's proposed mining project. GIS Manager for the digitization of all God's Lake First Nation Traditional Use Study data collected for the Historical Resources Branch of Manitoba. GIS Manager for the digitization of all Manto Sipi Cree Nation Traditional Use Study data collected for the Historical Resources Branch of Manitoba. GIS Manager for 13 First Nations involved in the collection of Traditional Use Study data for the Wabanong Nakaygum Okimawin East Side Planning Authority. Project leader for the development of a Saulteaux/Syllabics place names mapping project for the Little Grand Rapids First Nation. Facilitated the development of a community-based, environmental monitoring program using Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science, to record changes in the environment, and to create tools to assist in environmental monitoring with the Mikisew Cree First Nation. Conducted community-based research for the development of an environmental monitoring program using Indigenous Knowledge and scientific monitoring techniques with the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation. Completed a needs assessment for completing an Anishnabe Knowledge Study with the Coalition of First Nations with Interest in Riding Mountain National Park Conducted a cultural values assessment with the Saulteau First Nation and the
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FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
West Moberly First Nations by integrating land use and occupancy research findings from past studies into the Peace Moberly Tract Land Use Plan. Provided technical expertise to the Prophet River First Nation for the development of maps to be used in a land use planning initiative for a 5 square kilometre area around the PRFN's reserve lands. Provided technical expertise to the Doig River First Nation for integrating land use and occupancy research findings from past studies into the communities Treaty Land Entitlement process. Provided technical and training expertise to the Fort Nelson First Nation for the development of a community atlas and mapping of traditional use study research findings. Provided technical expertise to land use personnel at the Halfway River First Nation to identify a RCMP historic trail route. Facilitated a Bigstone Cree Nation TUS Gap Analysis and evaluated community goals and needs, and the potential of an existing Traditional Use Study (TUS) data set to meet those goals and needs. Interviewed practitioners and researched funding sources that would support Traditional Use Study research activities in First Nation communities that resulted in the development of "A New Trail: Fundraising for Cultural Research and Land Use and Occupancy Studies - A Reference Guide For Securing Funds." Project manager for the Nazko Band Government Traditional Use Study in accordance with the BC Traditional Use Study guidelines.
Project Experience - Land Use Planning, Atlases and Bioregional Mapping • • • • • • • • •
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Project Manager, Senior Researcher and Co-Author for the Lytton First Nation 5-year Housing Strategy 2017-2021. Project Manager, Senior Researcher, GIS Manager and Co-Author for the Lytton First Nation Strategic Land Use Plan. Facilitated a one-day workshop with the Nislchawayasihk Cree Nation focussed on the use of mapping and GIS for land use planning. Produced and redesigned the Historical Atlas of First Nations in Manitoba 2013 Portfolio tor the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba. Provided technical and advisory support for the Fort Nelson First Nation Strategic Land Use Plan, entitled "Respect for the Land." Updated and re-designed a poster entitled "We are all Treaty people" for the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba. Technical support for the Sambaa K'e First Nation to support on-going land claim negotiations with government. Co-facilitated a one-day Google Earth training workshop at the Navajo Nation in Santa Fe, New Mexio with Bioneers Google Earth Outreach. Technical support for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Industry Relations Corporation to support on-going consultation with government and industry. Technical support for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation's Lower Athabasca Region Plan. Facilitated workshops at Fisher River Cree Nation for the development of a
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FINAL REPORT: WEST MOBERLY ETHNOHISTORICAL AND TUS FOR THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
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community vision for watershed planning. Conducted an assessment for the lvey Foundation that focussed on Ontariobased First Nation land use issues to gain a deeper understanding of community-driven, participatory land-use planning priorities. Produced and designed a 24-page portfolio for the Historical Atlas of First Nations in Manitoba, 2009 Map Portfolio for the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba. Provided advisory, technical and training support to the Little Black Bear First Nation for the development of a comprehensive community plan. In support of the public participation program for the expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve, develop a 22-layer atlas showing conservation and other values of the area for Parks Canada. Collaborated with the Aboriginal Strategy Group to work with the Whitesand First Nation to develop a land use plan vision in Armstrong, Ontario. Collaborated with Herb Hammond to identify forestry resources within Doig River First Nation's territory to give the community options for economic independence. Provided technical expertise for the production of maps for the Tahltan First Nation's territory. Provided technical and training expertise for the production of the Heiltsuk Nation's land use plan. Provided technical and training expertise for the development of a bioregional atlas for 5 communities of the Sencot'en Alliance. Provided technical and training expertise to the Tsleii-Waututh Nation for the development of a park atlas for Say Nuth Khaw Yum (Indian Arm Provincial Park). Provided technical and training expertise for the development of the Hupacasath First Nation's land use plan. Produced a land interest document to the Nazko Band Government that provided an overview of the Ndazkoht'en people and their long-term goals and vision.
Project Experience - Capital Infrastructure
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Development of a risk assessment inventory database tool for fuel tank systems and wastes disposal sites on Indian reserves throughout Ontario for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (awarded the ESRI Canada 2009 Award of Excellence). Provided technical expertise for the development of a 5-megawatt wind farm on the Swan Lake First Nation. Provided technical expertise to the Treaty 8 Tribal Association for the development of a wind farm tenure application In Treaty 8 territory. Conducted Gl S data entry and analysis for the Digital Information Management And Resource Systems (DIMARS) project for the Town of Summerland. Conducted GIS data entry and analysis for the adding, updating, and editing of water main plans and files for the entire Regional Municipality of Peel. Conducted GIS data entry and analysis for small site plans and single line diagrams, and updated and revised land base files, strip maps and subdivision
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maps for Toronto Hydro. Project Experience- Health and Social Cartographic production for the Midwives Association of Manitoba (MAM) "Midwifery Evaluation Project 2012" final report. Technical Lead to the National Aboriginal Health Organization for the production of numerous mapping products designed for use in highlighting Aboriginal midwifery in Canada. Technical Lead to the Red Road HIV/AIDS Network for the development of a comprehensive listing of HIV/AIDS and health services available to First Nations for the province of British Columbia. Technical Lead to the Red Road HIV/AIDS Network for the development of 10,000 pocket book guides highlighting HIV/AIDS and health services available to First Nations tor the northern region of British Columbia. Technical Lead to the Red Road HIV!AIDS Network for the development of 20,000 pocket book guides highlighting HIVIAIDS and health services available to First Nations for the city of Vancouver.
Board of Directors • •
The Firelight Group Research Cooperative I Firelight Research Inc. (2009present) West Coast Environmental Law (2015-present) Raven Spirit Dance Society (2004-2006)
Selected Publications Rachel Olson, Jeffrey Hackett and Steven DeRoy. Mapping the Digital Terrain: Towards Indigenous Geographic Information and Spatial Data Quality Indicators for Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Land-Use Data Collection. The Cartographic Journal, (2016). Rachel Olson, Steven DeRoy and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Saulteau First Nations. Desktop Report- Saulteau First Nations Knowledge and Use Review for North Montney Mainline Project (2014). Rachel Olson, Steven DeRoy and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Blueberry River First Nations. Blueberry River First Nations Knowledge and Use Study Report for TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. Coastal GasUnk Pipeline Project. Blueberry River First Nations (2014). Craig Candler, Steve DeRoy and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) and the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN). MCFN and ACFN Desktop Knowledge and Use Report for BC Hydro's Proposed 'Site C' Dam Project. Mikisew Cree First Nation Government and Industry Relations and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Industry Relations Corporation (2012). Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative. Integrated Knowledge and Land Use Report and Assessment for Shell Canada's Proposed Jackpine Mine Expansion and Pierre River Mine. Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Industry Relations Corporation (2011).
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Craig Candler and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative. Mikisew Cree First Nation Indigenous Knowledge and Use Report and Assessment for Shell Canada's Proposed Jackpine Mine Expansion, Pierre River Mine, and Redclay Compensation Lake. Mikisew Cree First Nation Government and Industry Relations. (2011). The Firelight Group Research Cooperative. Chapter C, Line Creek Operations Phase II, Ktunaxa Nation Rights and Interests Assessment. Ktunaxa Nation and Teck Coal Limited. (2011). Craig Candler, Rachel Olson, Steven DeRoy and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative, with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) and the Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN). As Long as the Rivers Flow: Athabasca River Knowledge, Use and Change. Parkland Institute, University of Alberta. (201 0). DeRoy, Steven. 2012. Using geospatial and network analysis to assess accessibility to core homeland areas of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in the context of increasing oil sands development. Masters thesis. University College London. Craig Candler, Rachel Olson, Steven DeRoy and Kieran Broderick. Participatory GIS as a Sustained (and Sustainable?) Practice: The Case of Treaty 8 BC. Participatory Learning and Action, 54 (2006), 325-356. "Direct-To-Digital Mapping Methodology Using Google Earth" guidebook produced by the Firelight Group for the Tsleii-Waututh Nation (2011). "Good Practices Guide: Setting up and keeping an Aboriginal Mapping Program" guidebook produced by CIER for GeoConnections and Natural Resources Canada (201 0). Rachel Eni, Gladys Rowe, and Steven DeRoy. Assessing the Social, Cultural, Health Impacts of Hydro-electric Construction in Fox Lake. Poster presentation at the 1Oth annual Health Impact Assessment Conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Conferences I Workshops
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Keynote Presenter, Facilitator and Organizer, 2017 Indigenous Mapping Wananga, May 16- 18, 2017 in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), New Zealand Facilitator, Taking Care of our Land Symposium on May 8, 2017 at Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
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Keynote Presenter, National First Nations e-Health Conference & 2nd Annual Manitoba First Nations ICT Summit February 6-9, 2017 in Winnipeg, Manitoba Keynote Presenter and Facilitator, 2017 Manitoba Land use Planning Gathering, Conference, and Tradeshow, January 31 -February 2, 2017, in Winnipeg, Manitoba Keynote Presenter, Facilitator and Organizer, 2016 Indigenous Mapping Workshop, November 7-10, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia Keynote Presenter, Simon Fraser University GIS Day, November 18, 2015 in Burnaby, British Columbia Presenter, Laurentian University Indigenous Education Week, October 29, 2015
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in Sudbury, Ontario Keynote Presenter, Facilitator, and Organizer, Google Geo Tools for Restoring Ntabelanga, September 29- October 1, 2015 in Grahamstown, South Africa Keynote Presenter, Facilitator and Organizer, 2015 Indigenous Mapping Workshop, July 28-30, 2015 in Waterloo, Ontario Facilitator, Halfway River First Nations Introduction to GIS, May 10-15, 2015 in Halfway River, British Columbia Facilitator, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation Land Use Planning Workshop, October 6-7,2014 in Nelson House, Manitoba Keynote Presenter, Facilitator and Organizer, 2014 Indigenous Mapping Workshop, August 25-28, 2014 in Victoria, British Columbia Presenter, Planning Together 3: A First Nations - Ontario Workshop on the Far North Land Use Strategy, May 12-16, 2014 in Thundery Bay, Ontario Presenter, National Claims Research Workshop, September 17-19, 2013 in Fort St. John, British Columbia Presenter, CARTO 2013 Conference, June 11-14, 2013 in Edmonton, Alberta Presenter, CASCA2013 Conference, May 7-10,2013 in Victoria, British Columbia Presenter, Google Trainers Network Workshop and Geo For Good Conference, September 24-28, 2012 in Mountain View, California Presenter, Central Boreal Learning Network, November 4-6, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec Presenter, Working Forum on the Duty to Consult: Now What?, October 22-23, 2009 in Edmonton, Alberta Presenter, Indigenous Mapping Network Conference, June 14, 2009 in Green Bay, Wisconsin Presenter, Keepers of the Water Ill, August 13-17,2008 in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta Presenter, Wabanong Nakaygum Okimawin Traditional Area Land Use Plans, June 24-25, 2008 in Winnipeg, Manitoba Presenter, Northern British Columbia GIS Conference 2006, May 30-31, 2006 in Prince George, British Columbia Presenter, Mapping for Change, September 7- 11, 2005 in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa Presenter, Indigenous Communities Mapping Initiative Conference, March 1015, 2004 in Vancouver, British Columbia Keynote Presenter and Organizer, "Mapping for Communities: First Nations, GIS and the Big Picture" Aboriginal Mapping Network conference, November 20-21, 2003 in Duncan, British Columbia, Presenter, Geotec Event "A Spirit of Collaboration", May 16-19,2003, in Vancouver, British Columbia Presenter, Natural Resources Information Management Forum: Putting Knowledge to Work, 2003 in Richmond, British Columbia Presenter, Intertribal GIS Council Conference 2003, in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho Presenter, Sto:lo Environment Conference, April 16, 2003 in Chilliwack, British Columbia Presenter, UBCIC Land Claims Research Conference, 2003 in Vancouver, British Columbia
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Presenter, Northern British Columbia GIS Conference 2002, May 2002 in Prince George, British Columbia
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