SKEENA AWARENESS PROJECT

A discovery expedition of the Upper Skeena lead by Director, Jim Allen. After completing a Swiftwater Rescue Technician course, the 10 person field crew completed 2 consecutive 10 day Upper Skeena River rafting expeditions in hopes of finding and reviving ancient heritage trails for archaeological documentation and development of eco-tourism. It was a joint project with Hereditary Chief, Gwinninixtkw, who lead the Cultural Heritage portion of the expedition. The project found and revived 12km of ancient Gitxsan trail as well as campsites for future use by outdoor adventurers.

Among these trails and campsites were ancient village remnants, fish pits and gravesites. This type of sustainable development not only helps local economy, it also demonstrates an alternative to industrialization or less sustainable developments in the watershed while establishing a strong history of use and occupation of the land. The first expedition was flown in by bush plane to the Mosque River and the second was transported by rail car to the Sustut river and Skeena river confluence. A short film, “Devil’s Club & Blazes – searching for the trails of our Gitxsan Ancestors” was produced and is available in our office.