Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc
September 07, 2023 - 5:01 PM
Tk'emlups and the City of Kamloops are protecting an archaeological site discovered along the riverbank this past weekend.
The area is closed to the public as the Band and the City study what Tk'emlups is calling a "sacred site," according to a news release.
“Cultural heritage is an important value for T?emlúps and we have a responsibility to ensure that our cultural and traditional practices are being respected. Our people have been here since time immemorial and travelled extensively throughout Secwepemcúl’ecw," Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said in the news release.
Police were called to the banks of the Thompson River on Sept. 2, where a person walking nearby noticed human bones in the clay along the water's edge.
Kamloops RCMP and the BC Coroners Service, along with an anthropologist determined the remains to be archaeological.
The last known archaeological site discovered in the area was within Riverside Park, while construction crews were working on flood protection. Four sites were found where archaeologists uncovered things like stone tools and modified bone fragments used for the traditional game Lahal. After they were discovered in 2020, archaeologist Leslie LeBourdais said the artifacts were estimated to be 3,500 years old, but did not disclose their locations.
It's not clear where the new site is either, but it's common for authorities to remain tight-lipped when archaeological remains are discovered in BC, in an attempt to keep the public from tampering with historic sites.
Often archaeological sites may be damaged, intentionally or otherwise, when members of the public venture into them. The BC Heritage Conservation Act, however, protects all archaeological sites, whether they are known or not, and they cannot be altered without a permit.
The City is working with the Band as it works to protect the site.
“The City of Kamloops is honoured and humbled to have a supportive role in protecting and preserving the traditional cultural heritage in this great valley," councillor Bill Sarai said. "We uphold the Letter of Understanding signed between the City and T'kemlúps te Secwépemc that respects the formalization of a cultural heritage protocol.”
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