More than 200 people descended on Cheslatta Carrier Nation's Scatchola Village burial grounds last week for a somber ceremony to return ancestral spirits to their resting place.
The 'Returning of the Spirits' ceremony followed a March 2012 discovery of human bones washed ashore from Cheslatta Lake.
A fisherman stumbled across what he thought looked like human skeletal remains and he immediately alerted the Burns Lake RCMP and Cheslatta Carrier Nation. The 25 bones were found approximately 12 miles from Scatchola Village.
Test results conducted on the bones by the University of British Columbia have confirmed that they are the human remains of a male and a female.
Mike Robertson, Cheslatta Carrier Nation's senior policy advisor said, "Councillor Michael Charlie, two members of the Burns Lake RCMP and I collected the 25 bones. The remains must have travelled for 20 miles in coffins before washing ashore."
He said he thought the coffins may have disintegrated in the water. "Cheslatta Lake contains the spirits of the people ... it is sacred holy water," he said.
Periodic flooding of the area by Rio Tinto Alcan has unearthed Cheslatta Carrier Nation's ancestral graves at least six times since 1952, when the community was flooded out of their homes by Rio Tinto Alcan when the Kenny Dam was constructed to service the aluminum smelter at Kitimat.
The dam flooded 120,000 acres and took away approximately two-thirds of the original river.
Cheslatta Carrier Nation Chief Richard Peters said, "Our ancestors stood by and watched as our community dwindled and was relocated in 1952. The Skins Lake Spillway flooded Indian Reserve number nine, number seven and number five. Coffins and remains floated away in Cheslatta Lake, but we hope that this is the beginning of the process to help stop the desecration and give our ancestors back their dignity."
During the ceremony six Cheslatta Carrier Nation youth carried a large wooden coffin housing the recently recovered remains and two Roman Catholic priests arrived, signaled by three shots of a rifle fired by Abel Peters and Anthony Peters.
Father Albanus Ogowuihe, from Burns Lake's Immaculata Church and Father Vincent James from Fraser Lake, blessed the graves that have remained intact. The priests also re-consecrated the three cemeteries and Cheslatta Lake as an official cemetery.
According to Cheslatta Carrier Nation, Bishop Hubert O’Grady originally consecrated Cheslatta Lake as a cemetery in 1993.
“It saddens me greatly that my ancestors cannot rest. My people have to continually re-live the horrors we suffered when our lands were flooded 60 years ago by the construction of the Kenney Dam,” said Chief Peters. “Our ancestors deserve a peaceful resting place. It is devastating that the graves of our family members can be flooded at any time.”
Corrina Leween, past Cheslatta Carrier Nation Chief gave a historical briefing during the ceremony and read out a letter written on May 7, 1957, by W. J. Desmarais, Indian Superintendent from the Indian Affairs Branch.
In the letter, Desmarais reported the flooding to his superiors. He said, "Approximately 17 graves were completely washed away by the high water, This high water is caused by the opening of the flood gates at the Skins Dam. The Aluminum Company of Canada [now Rio Tinto Alcan] is aware of this ...… there is absolutely no vestige of the cemetery left to the eye. The Cheslatta Indians are not aware of what has happened yet. I am informed that they will raise proper hell when they find out. I feel that I should be able to cope with them when they first come in with their complaints."
Leween said, "I am reading this to demonstrate what the attitude was like toward us then. Our ancestors were forced to pack up and leave the only homes they knew. It was a long trek, so they buried some of their possessions but the Department of Indian Affairs came in with metal detectors and dug up the possessions and destroyed them. Our people entrusted that the graves, our people and their possessions would be safe, but the land was flooded, their homes were gone, their possessions were gone ... all washed into Cheslatta Lake. This devastating reality took a toll on our people. They wandered the land and lived in tents. They were depressed. Once productive lives were destroyed and our people turned to live destructive lifestyles, but we have not given up. Today we are taking another step in recognizing our lost loved ones and in the fight for our rights as a people. We are gathered to honour the people that were washed away ... today another stone is turned on these shores," she said.
During the ceremony water from Cheslatta Lake was blessed by the priests and packaged in special holy water bottles for ceremony attendees to take.
Councillor Michael Charlie said, "Today we drove here, 50 kilometres from the Cheslatta Carrier Nation band office on primitive roads. Think about how our ancestors would have had to trek out of here on wagons and on foot under extreme spring time terrain. I can't image how it must have been for them. We can't let this fade away ... this was devastation for our people and our land and it is important that the youth remember what happened to our ancestors. They are the ones that made Cheslatta and I never thought that I would be searching the shores of Cheslatta Lake for my ancestors bones. It broke my heart. These bones are just a fraction of what is out there, so this is never going to stop. Why and how this happened is something that I will never understand."
Darren Charlie said to Lakes District News, "This is a great opportunity for unity. I am glad to be here to represent my ancestors and I am honouring today's youth, so it is a great day, but it is also a sad day."
Rose Jack said, "This means a whole lot to me. It is the first time I have been here and my ancestors are from here, so it is a special day and a very emotional day for me."
Hilda Jack said to Lakes District News, "My mom Elizabeth Jack comes from here ... so this is her lake. She is still alive and she is at Jubilee Lodge in Prince George ... she couldn't be here today, so I am here for her."
Chief Peters said, “It is shocking that this desecration is allowed to continue in Canada. What angers me the most is that we have a solution to end this devastation. The provincial government has committed on numerous occasions to build a water release facility at Kenney Dam, that would stop the continued flooding of our graves. We have had enough and have recently remobilized our energy behind the Nechako River Legacy Project to stimulate a massive environmental restoration of the Upper Nechako watershed to begin a revitalization process for the Cheslatta land and people."
Mike Robertson said, "The cold water release facility was promised for 35 years, but they lied to us. There was a litany of lies told and the government confirmed in January 2012 that there is no longer an appetite to invest so we are working towards doing it ourselves through the Nechako River Legacy Project."
More information about the Cheslatta Carrier Nation and the Nechako River Legacy Project is available at www.facebook.com/nechakolegacy.
Lakes District News will be following up on the Nechako River Legacy Project.