Coastal GasLink says it has voluntarily suspended work at a site in Wet’suwet’en territory south of Houston.
The stoppage comes as Unist’ot’en members discovered artifacts at a site known as 9A where clearing was conducted to prepare for a work camp related to the pipeline project.
The Unist’ot’en says they found a biface stone tool and a partial base fragment of a stem point which could be up to 3200 years old.
The group says the discovery and other stone tools found at the site affirms Wet’suwet’en use and occupancy of the territory.
The Unist’ot’en say continuing any work in the area would violate the Heritage Conservation Act and Wet’suwet’en law.
Coastal GasLink says it has cordoned off the area and called for an archeologist visit the site along with Oil and Gas Commission to further investigate the finds.
The company says it takes protection of culturally important heritage sites and artifacts seriously and says it chose the site in question because it was previously cleared and used for forestry work.
CGL notes that archeologists determined there was low potential for artifacts at the site, but no onsite fieldwork was conducted before approvial because crews were unable to access the area.
