Peace River Hydro Partners Gifts $25,000 to Tse’k’wa Heritage Society


Fort St. John — September 30, 2021 — In honor of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Peace River Hydro Partners has gifted $25,000 to the Tse’k’wa Heritage Society. Tse’k’wa (“Rock House” in Dane-zaa) is a National Historic Site and exceptional archaeological site with deep cultural and spiritual significance for the Dane-zaa people, dating back more than 12,500 years. Tse’K’wa lies in the rolling terrain of the Peace River District to the east of the Rocky Mountains, nine kilometres northwest of Fort St. John. Previously known as Charlie Lake Cave, the site is an integral element of Dane-zaa identity and continuing traditions maintained through oral histories, stories, and songs. Tse’k’wa is nationally recognized for what it has revealed about the earliest humans and their movement over time, their way of life, about the cultures that followed, and about post-glacial environmental change.


The goal for the facility is to create an interactive and welcoming space to share the unique history of Tse’k’wa and the vibrant Dane-zaa culture with local residents, schools, and visiting tourists. Funds will be used to help enhance the educational capacity of the organization through educational planning, resources, and assets. The donation will assist the Society as it transforms the site from a volunteer-managed site into a year-round public interpretive education and cultural centre. Tse’k’wa is owned, governed, and managed by the Tse’k’wa Heritage Society, a collaboration of three Dane-zaa First Nations communities: Doig River, Prophet River, and West Moberly, with a vision to share their stories, language, and culture with the world. Peace River Hydro Partners hopes to support the development of this vision through Tse’k’wa’s educational programs, which preserve and share critical cultural and historical information.
Tse’k’wa Executive Director, Alyssa Currie, and President, Garry Oker, graciously hosted PRHP’s Communications and Indigenous Relations Manager, Jamie Bodnarchuk, and Environmental Writer, Alison MacMaster, for an inspiring tour of the facility.

Beginning with a game of ring-toss, which was handcrafted locally by Elder Jack Askoty from Doig River First Nation, Garry and Alyssa shared the importance of having educational programs available and accessible for everyone, but especially youth. Their passion and excitement were inspiring as they shared how education is an opportunity to connect youth with themselves, their culture, their histories, and their identities, which encourages harmony and balance in life.


The tour continued to the recreated work-style camp area and the cave, where Garry shared his extensive knowledge, highlighting the spiritual and ceremonial significance of the cave. According to Garry, “we need to create cultural heritage education programs to share with the public the importance of this national historic site in our region.” Improving education will have an added benefit, according to Garry: “It will be good for tourism.”


Continuing inside, Alyssa showcased educational reproductions and original artifacts, such as hand tools, stone artifacts, and arrow points, recovered during extensive archaeological excavations in the area, showcasing the rich history of the site. She shared that “these resources provide hands-on learning experiences for visitors” and are especially popular among the school-aged visitors to the site; “The gift from Peace River Hydro Partners is going to help us provide a better learning experience for everyone.”


The tour ended inside the future repository space, where Garry introduced a spectacular piece of his original artwork which showcases the connectedness of people with nature, deep cultural and spiritual themes across all generations, past, present, and future, and how we are all connected through our stories. He shared his commitment, along with the Tse’k’wa Heritage Society, to restore, preserve, and enhance these stories to safeguard the deep history of the site for future generations.

The Tse’k’wa Heritage Society continues to actively fundraise in support of their vision. Tse’k’wa operates on private property, and visitors or donors are asked to register ahead of time before visiting the site by calling 250-224-7906 or emailing tsekwaheritage@gmail.com.
Peace River Hydro Partners, a joint venture between ACCIONA and Samsung Renewable Energy Inc., holds the Main Civil Works Contract on BC Hydro’s Site C Clean Energy Project, which is being constructed on the traditional territories of the Treaty 8 First Nations.

For more information:
PRHP Communications Manager: Jamie Bodnarchuk
250-263-9920
info@prhp.ca
www.prhp.ca
www.sitecproject.com
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/clmhc-hsmbc/res/information-backgrounder/tsekwa
http://treaty8.bc.ca/tsekwa/