The Unist’ot’en are upset with a BC Oil and Gas Commission bulletin about Indigenous artifacts found during pipeline work in Wet’suwet’en territory.
The commission examined stone tools unearthed during excavation south of Houston following a complaint from the Unist’ot’en.
The bulletin issued by the commission says its team found stone tools on top of frozen clay, which would not typically contain such artifacts, and that it can’t be sure where the artifacts originated.
The Unist’ot’en say the report ignores the fact that the site was heavily disturbed by Coastal GasLink bulldozers.
They also say the “cryptic” nature of the bulletin creates confusion, leading to “hurtful and racist speculation” that Unist’ot’en members may have falsified information.
The Unist’ot’en insist that any archeological work in their territory must be consented too and done under the supervision of its consulting archaeologists.
Coastal GasLink, which had halted work at the site after the discovery, say it hopes to proceed again now that a mitigation plan is in place.
