An excerpt from the spring issue of British Columbia History

1 Under New Management

Opening ceremonies at Historic Hat Creek Ranch. Photo: Mary Putnam

It’s been one year since the Bonaparte First Nation’s St’uxwtews Pesuten Heritage Society started managing Historic Hat Creek Ranch site. Established in 1860 during the gold rush, the ranch’s roadhouse was an important stop on the Cariboo Wagon Road. It also employed local First Nations. Located 11 kilometres north of Cache Creek, the site is now weaving settler and Indigenous stories together like a braided rope.

General manager Brandy Cooper-Chardon says it has been a rewarding transition year. “We approach this blending with respect and balance, emphasizing that these stories are intertwined yet distinct. Our guided tours and interpretive signage aim to present both perspectives — acknowledging the rich cultural heritage of the St’uxwtews people alongside the impact of settler history. Historic Hat Creek Ranch is a perfect place to showcase where the past meets the present.”

The ranch will open for the new season on May 1, employing 30 to 35 people from Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds. “This staffing mix fosters cultural exchange and community-building. The economic impact has been positive, with increased tourism benefiting local businesses in Cache Creek and surrounding areas. Moreover, our employment opportunities support both youth and cultural ambassadors, promoting skills development and heritage preservation.”

Visit Historic Hat Creek’s website at hatcreek.ca.

2 Ancient Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts have a long history of cultivation by Indigenous peoples. Photo: Mark Forsythe

Indigenous peoples have tended forests and shrubs for food like crabapples, bitterroot, and cranberries for millennia. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that hazelnuts were transplanted and grown at least 7,000 years ago by the Gitxsan, Tsimshian, and Nisga’a peoples in the Skeena River region. This is roughly the same period that wheat and barley were being grown in the Nile River Valley, and corn was planted in Mexico.

Chelsey Geralda Armstrong, an ethno-ecologist and archaeologist from Simon Fraser University’s Department of Indigenous Studies, told CBC News that their research “cuts through assumptions of B.C. and the Northwest Coast being wild and completely untouched.” This also underscores oral history about Indigenous people cultivating hazelnuts in communities at the confluence of major rivers. DNA testing revealed that shared genetic clusters of hazelnuts are “consistent with the movement of humans across the landscape.” Hazelnuts were likely traded, and the word for hazelnut is similar in different Indigenous languages.

The authors conclude: “This study highlights the often-overlooked agency of Indigenous Peoples in shaping species range and distributions in North America.”

3 Rebirth of a Museum

Lytton Chinese Museum’s new interior. Photo: Courtesy Lytton Chinese History Museum

Almost four years after the Lytton Chinese History Museum burned to the ground, a new museum will open on May 3. An extensive collection of artifacts (once described as being second only to the provincial collection) was lost, but some remains were sifted out of the ashes, including broken pots covered in melted glass. They will be on display as part of the museum’s own story. Owner Lorna Fandrich started to rebuild the collection shortly after the 2021 fire that consumed most of the village and took two lives.

“I am most excited about the new items in the Chinese laundry display. They were donated by a family that collected them from an old laundry in Zeballos. So many individuals have come forward with artifacts and I am truly grateful. Although many of the items are not from the Lytton area, they are from the same era and tell the Lytton Chinese story.”

Lorna checked reconstruction progress every day for five months. “We removed the two small display rooms and created a better traffic flow through one large room. It has been amazing to see that it is a huge step-up from what we had before.”

The Village of Lytton also lost its community museum; plans for a new one are included in a “community hub” being built, thanks to a $25 million federal grant. Donations of Lytton-related artifacts, documents, and money are most welcome. Contact the museum at lyttonchinesehistorymuseum.com.

A new park to honour Chief Cexpe’nthlEm, a revered leader and peacemaker, is expected to open this spring. It will include a lookout to the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers, interpretive signage to share the Cexpe’nthlEm story, and landscaping for a new community gathering space.

4 Canyon Renewal

New signage at Yale highlights the Fraser Canyon’s history, recreation, and culture. Photo: Mark Forsythe

Come back! That’s the hope of communities along the wondrous Fraser Canyon route, once the main corridor into the Interior. After the Coquihalla Highway opened in 1986, local Canyon businesses and communities suffered severely; in recent years wildfires and floods have also been devastating.

In 2019 Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart began to collaborate with local governments, Indigenous communities, and businesses to develop a new tourism master plan to revitalize the Canyon route. Provincial funding has produced two impressive highway sign installations at opposite ends of the Canyon, in Yale and in Lytton.

The signs include Nlaka’pamuxcin, Halq’eméylem, and English languages to highlight viewpoints, historical sites, recreational opportunities, and communities. Meanwhile, reconstruction of the Village of Lytton, along with restoration projects at Alexandra Bridge (spearheaded by the Spuzzum First Nation and New Pathways to Gold Society) and at Alexandra Lodge (by owners Shirley and Ken MacKinnon), bode well for the future. Why not explore the Canyon Route and its 10,000-year history this summer?

5 Personal Archive of Climate Change

Climate Disaster Project website. Image: climatedisasterproject.com

These are truly historic times. Climate change is intensifying with new extremes each year; the task of comprehending heat waves, wildfires, and flooding can be mind-numbing. The Climate Disaster Project, based at the University of Victoria, aims to capture the individual human stories that make the consequences of climate change tangible and relatable.

The project is building an online archive of stories based on interviews with people who have been affected around the world. Stories range from the trauma of losing a home during BC wildfires to the loss of lives and livelihood after typhoons slammed into the Philippines.

The Climate Disaster Project is led by faculty and students, with contributions from climate scientists, journalists, psychologists, and climate disaster survivors. The project’s website allows a spark of hope: “We can survive this new age of disaster if we build empathy and solidarity around the experience of climate change. Because story creates community, and community creates hope.”

Read or share your own stories by visiting the project’s website: climatedisasterproject.com/share-your-story

Mark Forsythe travels through BC and back in time, exploring the unique work of British Columbia Historical Federation members.