Charlie Lake's Tse’k’wa cave wins TIABC tourism award

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Brenda Baptiste of Indigenous Tourism BC (far left) presented the outstanding Indigenous operator or experience to Tse’k’wa Heritage Society during Tourism Industry Association of BC’s awards in Kelowna. Accepting the award, Tse’k’wa Heritage Society board members Laura Webb (second from left), president Garry Oker (centre) and executive director Alyssa Currie. (Photo submitted by Alyssa Currie)

CHARLIE LAKE, B.C. — Charlie Lake’s national historical site has taken home an award for being an outstanding Indigenous experience.

Last month, Tse’k’wa Heritage Society was on the shortlist for nominations for ‘Indigenous operator or experience’ in industry awards presented by the Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC).

The announcement of its win came during TIABC’s conference, which took place from March 4th to 6th in Kelowna.

The site, which is one of the only Indigenous-owned and operated heritage sites in Canada, was purchased by three Treaty 8 nations – Doig River First Nation (DRFN), Prophet River First Nation (PRFN) and West Moberly First Nations (WMFN) – in 2012.

President of the Tse’k’wa Heritage Society, Garry Oker, spoke to Energeticcity.ca about being named for the award, which also included destinations in Vancouver and Tofino.

“It was great news and a wonderful gift, we finally have been recognized for something important,” said Oker. “[For] the cultural heritage as an experience…We definitely want to build the tourism industry and we can provide something up north.”

Oker added that it is “really exciting to hear that we have something of value here that we can promote and get people to look at the past and the present and the future.”

Tse’k’wa – which translates to “rock house” – is a historical cave in Charlie Lake, which was an ancestral gathering place for the descendants of the Dane-zaa people dating back some 12,000 years.

Tse’k’wa Heritage Society’s executive director, Alyssa Currie, posted to Facebook about the win, saying her “heart is so full of pride and gratitude.”

“It feels incredible to receive provincial recognition for all of the hard work we have done to make Tse’k’wa an authentic and accessible tourism experience,” wrote Currie in her post.