VANCOUVER—Construction on an LNG pipeline has been halted after the discovery of possible historical artifacts on the territory of the Wet’suwet’en nation near Houston, B.C.

Two stone tools, estimated to be between 2,400 and 3,500 years old, were found on Wednesday, according to an open letter signed by members of the Wet’suwet’en and several archeological experts, addressed to the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

The tools were found at the site of a proposed work camp for Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline workers south of Houston, B.C.

“The recovery of artifacts from disturbed ground at the construction site indicates that the Heritage Conservation Act of British Columbia (HCA, RSBC 1996) and its accompanying guidelines have failed Indigenous communities in British Columbia once again,” the letter said.

Last month, 14 people blockading the entrance to traditional Wet’suwet’en territory were arrested for breaching a court-ordered injunction allowing Coastal GasLink to complete work in the area.

According to a CGL news release, the company has stopped work temporarily, cordoned-off the area and requested an investigation from the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission.

Suzanne Wilton, spokesperson for Trans Canada, said that “the responsible regulators will determine when work resumes.”

The release said that an Archeological Impact Assessment was approved in 2016 by the province, but stated that at that time, CGL was not able to access the site on which the artifacts were found “due to road access issues.”

CGL instead relied on assessments from licensed archeologists, who “determined low potential and no further work was required.”

Anne Spice, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the City University of New York who is currently visiting the Wet’suwet’en territory, said she has consulted with several archeologists, including Chelsey Armstrong of the Smithsonian Institution, who determined through photos the possible age of the artifacts.

Spice said that the site should be protected until the ground thaws and archeological work can begin.

“The ground is frozen and there is no cover, so our main concern is the site is protected,” she said.

“We suspect there is more material, because this could be a site that has had significant occupancy.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Freda Huson, spokesperson for the Unist’ot’en, said the stones looked like they could be arrowheads, which were likely used in a war against the Skin Tyee nation, the story of which is part of her traditional oral history.

“The area is not too far from the neighbouring Tyee clan, where one of the warriors had led a battle and passed through our territory,” she said.

Read more about: