Grace Islet Home On Sacred Aboriginal Cemetery To Be Demolished

Crews will soon deconstruct under the supervision of elders a partially built home on a sacred burial site off Salt Spring Island, B.C. (Gary McNutt)

The Canadian Press, Posted: Aug 10, 2015

Cultural workers will be at the site to ensure that 16 cairns are not disturbed

Crews will soon deconstruct a partially built home on a sacred burial site off Salt Spring Island, B.C., after a multimillion-dollar deal with the landowner.

Construction on a Grace Islet house started last fall after the landowner got the necessary permits, but First Nations raised concerns about the historical significance of the area.

Work stopped in December, and the land was transferred to the Nature Conservancy of Canada after the B.C. government paid the landowner $5.45 million.

Linda Hannah, the nature conservancy’s regional vice-president, said Monday that the house was at the framing stage when the order to stop work was issued.

She said cultural workers will be at the site to ensure that 16 cairns beneath the foundation are not disturbed.
Hannah said elders from eight First Nations will provide guidance on the deconstruction process in an area that is also known for its 200-year-old juniper, Garry oak and Douglas fir trees.

Chief James Thomas of the Halalt First Nation in Chemainus said he and other leaders approached the province and the Capital Regional District when they became aware of the project in 2012.

However, he said B.C.’s Heritage Conservation Act, which is supposed to protect archeological sites, seemed to lack any power when it came to stopping the construction on Grace Islet.

“They just kept moving forward with it even though we were fighting it and showing it was an actual burial site,” he said.

“We were trying to block the barge from coming in with timber and everything to build it,” he said.

The eight First Nations do not know whose ancestors are buried at the site, he said, adding: “Different tribes would use that area for hunting and fishing.”

Cowichan Tribes Chief William Seymour said the First Nation is pleased that the matter has now been resolved through collaboration with the provincial and local governments.

“Although there is some cause for celebration, we are also mindful that this is solemn work,” he said in a statement.

Capital Regional District director Wayne McIntyre said the work ahead is aimed at restoring the site to its natural state and keeping it that way.

“Grace Islet illustrates the critical importance of improving the heritage protection permitting process to ensure the preservation of the cultural history and protection of the resting places of indigenous ancestors,” he said in a statement.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/1.3186534

B.C. buys disputed Grace Islet in Ganges Harbour for $5.45 million

B.C. taxpayers will pay $5.45 million to protect a First Nations burial ground on tiny Grace Islet. Photograph by: David W Lewis, Times COlonist

BY LINDSAY KINES, TIMES COLONIST

B.C. taxpayers will fork over $5.45 million to protect a First Nations burial ground on tiny Grace Islet that an Alberta businessman purchased in 1990 for $270,000.

The B.C. government has agreed to pay $850,000 for the islet in Ganges Harbour at Saltspring Island and $4.6 million for losses suffered by Barry Slawsky, who was building a luxury retirement home on the 0.78-acre property.

As of July 2014, B.C. Assessment valued the land at $590,000 and the buildings at $145,000.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada now holds title and will work with First Nations to restore and conserve the islet.

Natural Resources Minister Steve Thomson said the price tag covers Slawsky’s costs over two decades to install utilities, hire archeologists, architects and other professionals, and to begin construction of the house, which is partially completed.

The settlement also compensates Slawsky for the loss of future enjoyment of the property.

“This wasn’t a real estate transaction,” Thomson said. “We had to deal with a long period of ownership, activity on the island, everything. So it recognized a whole bunch of other considerations.

“The important step was to make sure that we got the property into the hands of the Nature Conservancy of Canada so that we can deal with the ongoing values on the property.”

He said the First Nations archeological and cultural interests in the site “became much more apparent as this progressed.”

But Gary Holman, NDP MLA for Saanich North and the Island, who lobbied to protect the islet, said the government could have saved taxpayers a lot of money by intervening sooner.

Kayakers discovered exposed human remains on the islet in 2006, and archeologists subsequently located at least 16 burial cairns.

Nevertheless, the province’s archeology branch issued a site alteration permit in 2011 and re-issued it in 2013. Opposition grew as construction progressed until the province intervened in December.

“I think the province had the opportunity to deny the permit in the first place, given that it was a known burial site,” Holman said. “And then they also had an opportunity, as far back as a year and half ago, to refuse to renew it, given that the permit had been violated.

“It took so long for the province to act, I think they didn’t exercise the full leverage they had to get a fair deal for both the owner and the province.”

Thomson dodged questions about whether the case will set a precedent for future expensive settlements.

“Every situation’s unique,” he said. “I’ve asked staff to look at our internal administration procedures around site-alteration permits in these kinds of situations, so that we hopefully don’t get into those situations again with that level of advancement of the property.”

B.C. to buy private island to protect First Nations burial ground

Cairns marking the graves of First Nations peoples who lived and worked here hundreds of years ago were found on Grace Islet, whose sale to the provincial government is nearly complete. (John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail)

JUSTINE HUNTER | The Globe and Mail

The B.C. government has reached a tentative deal to buy Grace Islet, where a private home was being constructed atop an ancient aboriginal cemetery.

It is the 12th time since the 1970s that the province has purchased land to resolve a conflict over what the law deems to be of archeological value – sites that are regarded by First Nations as sacred burial grounds.

Grace Islet was purchased by Edmonton resident Barry Slawsky in 1990, and at that time the site was known to have archeological importance. But when ancient human remains were found, archeologists investigated and found 16 burial rock cairns that would trace back at least 500 years.

Under the province’s Heritage Conservation Act, it is illegal to damage, desecrate or alter a burial place that has historical or archeological value. But Mr. Slawsky was granted a provincial permit to build his retirement home after agreeing to construct it around and above the rock cairns.

However, as construction began, First Nations expressed opposition to what they saw was desecration of a burial site.

The Cowichan Tribes drafted a civil claim asserting aboriginal title to the islet – an unusual case, if it had proceeded, because land claims are normally limited to Crown land where title has not been extinguished.

The pact, if it is finalized, would avert that lawsuit. “Our ancestors can now rest in peace on Grace Islet,” Vern Jacks, Chief of the Tseycum First Nation, stated in a news release.

The province has not stated how much it will pay for the site, which will also require remediation to deal with the half-constructed home on the islet in Ganges Harbour off of Salt Spring Island.