In this post, we are fortunate to share the wisdom of three Elders who offered their thoughts on Ancient Heritage in conversations with board member and Indigenous anthropologist, Dianne Hinkley:
In Indigenous communities, it is always important to listen to our Elders and seek their advice before anything else. For many years, I had the privilege of working with the late Elder, Abner Thorne, of Cowichan Tribes. We had many adventures together and I learned so much from him. Together, we answered many calls about ‘found human remains’. One day he said, “There’s a reason our ancestors keep showing up. They are trying to help us by showing that these are our lands, the lands where our ancestors were buried. They are like our fenceposts, and demonstrate the extent of our territory.
The Elders featured in this blog are people I know to be concerned about their archaeological heritage and would have thoughts to share about it. As well, they are located in geographically different areas of the province, indicating this is a concern for First Nations throughout BC, not one isolated location.
TIWENOMOT, Mavis Underwood of SȾÁUTW̱ W̱SÁNEĆ Nation (Tsawout First Nation) on Vancouver Island. Mavis keeps busy with her family and community, and is also working on her PhD at the University of Victoria. The prayer song and thoughts below was contributed by Mavis:
Protecting our Most Sacred History
Nature’s cadence drums out an ancient song.
Your beating heartsong.
The rhythm of your feet on the earth, across the rocky beach,
And in the rain, running against the cold wind.
A simple song of life.
As air fills your sacred spaces, your blood flows free,
Each footstep a prayer.We need to keep pushing for rapid change and immediate protection of sacred spaces. This is fulfillment of Indigenous law and reconnection to Indigenous history. History helps inform the future generations and contributes to connection and development of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of humankind.
History is the backbone of civilization yet Indigenous First Nations have endured efforts to erase the history of their life, architecture, and traditional ecological knowledge. The history of our homelands has been under attack for generations. Exploration, settlement, and development have operated to create a new history of our homelands. This includes removal and negation of Indigenous First Nations history, extinguishment of rights, erasure of the evidence of life including use and occupation; and reduction and infringement on traditional land and marine spaces. The history of our encounter with Europeans is tragic. Our ancestral remains have endured in our homelands and are held not only in earth, rock and water spaces, but also in our ancient teaching narratives, now growing in Indigenous history curriculum for schools and public education. The conduct and life of Indigenous law is maintaining the sacred relationship with our ancestors and keeping alive their history.
Suwsiiwumat, also known as Diana Modeste nee Seymour, is an Elder of the Quw’utsun Nation on Vancouver Island. She served for many years as the Chief Administrator for her community and remains very involved in community activities. The following are Diana’s reflections on Ancient Heritage:
As an administrator, we were excited to work on heritage sites to ensure our cultural protocols were followed. It was amazing to find out about our ancestors’ lives and their diet. It was amazing to find out through science that some remains were 4000 years old. Finding wooly dog remains was very exciting as those little dogs are now extinct. In the past, our ancestors used the wool from the dogs for clothing and blankets.
First Nations governments must ensure that legislation is put in place to protect and preserve these sites. This ancient history gives our communities a better understanding of our own history. So much of our heritage has been lost due to the loss of knowledge keepers from sickness (measles, smallpox, etc) and the residential school system.
Our other contributor, Ken Cameron, an Elder from the Saulteau First Nation in the northeast of the province. Below are his thoughts on Ancient Heritage:
Our people did not stay in one place like the nations on the coast, but moved around. They were always on the move. On the plains, it is harder to see archaeological sites.Our ancient heritage sites are powerful reminders that we were always here. We followed our ancient way of life, and followed the natural law of living in harmony with nature. These sites remind us that we are connected to everything, connected to all of our relations, meaning everything in the natural world around us.
There is no historical record of our past communities. When I went to school, they said nothing about our native history. These ancient sites are being destroyed without any consideration of First Nations people. The First Nations are treated as not existing as people, just an impediment to development. Proof of the government’s design for colonization is John A MacDonald calling us savages to be eliminated. The Indian Act was created to destroy the Indian peoples.
It is very important for our communities to learn from these ancient sites. A connection to them is felt by our older generations because we heard about them from our Elders when we were young. Today, young people don’t hear about these places, there’s no history to tell when these places have been destroyed. The young are more interested in modern technology because there is no history to show them.
At Heritage BC, we approach our work with the understanding that heritage is living, relational, and inclusive of all histories. Ancient Heritage reminds us to collectively protect not only what is visible, but also what has been carried through generations in story, law, and spirit. The perspectives of these three Elders connect deeply with our upcoming conference, Living Connections: People, Place & Stewardship, where we will explore how heritage is not only preserved in sites and objects, but also lived through ongoing relationships with land, water, and community. By listening to Elders and learning from Indigenous knowledge keepers, the conference aims to provide a space for participants to engage with these perspectives directly, bridging traditional knowledge and contemporary heritage practice. The insights shared by Mavis Underwood, Diana Modeste, and Ken Cameron guide and inspire our work,ensuring that heritage is understood, respected, and actively cared for today and for future generations to come.
This guest blog post was shared by Dianne Hinkley, an Indigenous anthropologist and Chair of Heritage BC’s Ancient Heritage Committee. Formed in 2023, this Committee has been learning together about Ancient Heritage and exploring ways to support its integration into Heritage BC’s existing programs. Current Committee members include Dianne Hinkley, Kristina Hannis, archaeologist Christina Reid, Rizwaan Abbas, and Lillian Rose.