What appear to be more human remains were exposed last week, for the second time this year at a cemetery along the shoreline of Cheslatta Lake due to the high water releases in the Nechako Reservoir.
The distressing discovery reinforces the significance of a ceremony being hosted this week by the Cheslatta Carrier Nation to honour the memory of over 60 ancestors whose graves have washed into Cheslatta Lake since 1952 due to releases at the Skins Lake spillway.
The ceremony, called ‘The Return of the Spirits’ will be open to the public and will take place at Scatchola Village on Cheslatta Lake.
Two Catholic priests will bless the remaining graves and will re-consecrate three cemeteries and Cheslatta Lake itself as an official cemetery.
The Catholic Church originally consecrated Cheslatta Lake as a cemetery in 1993.
The ceremony, starting today at noon will include a procession, the Louie family singers, drumming and the Cheslatta youth reading the names of their ancestors who are buried or are missing in the waters of Cheslatta Lake.