Tse’K’wa infrastructure upgrades improve accessibility to historical site

CHARLIE LAKE, BC – Infrastructure upgrades are in progress at the historical Tse’K’wa site in Charlie lake.

According to the executive director of the Tse’K’wa Heritage Society, Alyssa Currie, the upgrades will not only improve accessibility for its visitors but create a place for DAne-Zaa culture to be celebrated and shared as well. 

“We’re also doing all this work with an aim to make the site as friendly to as many people as possible, regardless of their physical abilities and cultural backgrounds,” said Currie. 

“Having the physical infrastructure to reflect those goals means keeping an eye on things like universal design and accessibility.”

The work in progress at the site includes a wheelchair-accessible trail to the site’s cave, new outhouses, picnic tables, a wheelchair ramp around the building, and a new amphitheatre to host drumming, classes, and other activities.

Because Tse’K’wa is known as a significant archeological site, extra precautions are being taken to ensure the archaeology is preserved. 

Currie hopes the site’s upgrades will help build relationships with visitors and surrounding communities. 

“The best way to do that is by educating the community that we live in and growing an appreciation and an understanding not only of Tse’K’wa and its role as a significant archeological, cultural, and spiritual site but also more broadly,” said Currie.

“The land as a whole and the people that are stewards of that land, the First Nations people.”

The infrastructure improvements are expected to be finished by next summer. 

Upon completion, the site will be open to the public.