Indigenous-owned Tse’K’wa cave spotlighted on ‘Before the Peace’ podcast

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. —  Repatriation, history, reconciliation and the future of the Tse’K’wa cave Heritage Site was discussed for an episode of the Before the Peace podcast.

The cave in Charlie Lake is co-owned by Doig River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation and West Moberly First Nations, and its history stretches to the Ice Age.

Host Chris Walker was joined by the Tse’k’wa Heritage Society’s executive director, Alyssa Currie, to discuss what she described as a “busy” 2024.

She says her job varies daily, but she oversees the operations of the heritage site and its governing society.

“Some days, it’s running programs. Others, it’s writing grant reports so that we can continue to bring in funding to support the important work that we’re doing,” said Currie.

“Often, I’m giving tours to visitors to the site. As I see it, I am here to implement this beautiful vision that’s been put forward by the Dane-zaa community.”

Throughout her 40-plus-minute appearance, Currie discussed digital archives resulting from Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) excavations from the 1970s to the 1990s. 

These archives feature artefacts, field notes, research materials, maps and photographs. They were made available last February via the school’s research repository.

“This conversation was part of a larger one about repatriating or returning the Tse’K’wa collection to the communities,” said Currie. “A challenge Tse’k’wa faces is our organizational capacity and being able to bring these materials out to potential researchers or community members.”

Dr. Jon Driver, an archeologist who worked at the site during the excavations, secured funding and coordinated the archive project.

“The grant and SFU’s library program supported us in building a platform to show a catalog of all the artefacts in a medium that we would not have the capacity to implement,” said Currie.

Other highlights included the UNBC Archeology Field School at the site and the BC Archeology branch recognizing the site with an archaeological repository, which Currie says included over 15,000 animal bones from digs.

The interview also included a new magazine and educational curriculum project for local students, potential digital photogrammetry for artefacts and the site’s first artist-in-residence.

Tse’K’wa was set to host a campfire and walk down to the cave on January 31st in partnership with the Fort St. John Literacy Society in honour of Family Literacy Week, but the event had to be cancelled due to a memorial service honouring West Moberly First Nation (WMFN) Elder Catherine Dokkie.

Known in Dane-zaa as the “rock house,” the cave is one of the few Indigenous-owned Heritage Sites in Canada.

Listen the entire interview with Currie on the Before the Peace podcast, here.