The Tse’K’wa Heritage Society launched their new website on Monday, the next step in the non-profit’s re-branding journey.
The Tse’K’wa national historic cave site at Charlie Lake has been a gathering place of the Dane-zaa for over 12,500 years, culturally significant to all Treaty 8 First Nations and a globally unique archeological site.
“Tse’K’wa is a Chqde Wuujo - a good place - where we gather, preserve, and celebrate Dane-ẕaa language, culture, and heritage. A place where old stories and new teachings meet,” reads the website.
Tse’K’wa was once surrounded by grasslands after the receding of a glacial lake. Bison, wild hares, ground squirrels, and other animals soon moved in, but left for the plains of Alberta once the boreal forest formed.
The site remains in the hands of the Doig River, Prophet River and West Moberly First Nations, which purchased it in 2012. The vision for the site is a cultural centre to tell their ancestors’ story.
A field school was hosted in 2022 at the cave, bringing together UNBC students and community members from areaFirst Nations, discovering flakes of stone tools.
Simon Fraser University professor and bone expert Jon Driver attended the 2022 dig, picking up where he left off in the 1990s at the beginning of his career.
“You’ve got one of the most critically important scientific sites in Canada here, it’s incredible. I think that will sink in as the interpretative side of this develops,” said Driver.
