The shíshálh Nation is working to unearth relics from its past, but it has also been working to bury some.
Chief Warren Paull said members have made a decision concerning the remains of five ancestors featured in an exhibit at the Museum of History in Gatineau and Tems Swiya Museum that are currently in bentwood boxes in the shíshálh museum.
“That’s something that we took to the membership,” Paull said.
The remains will be buried close to the shíshálh Nation’s current graveyard in a ceremony. “I’m fairly confident that will happen sometime soon,” he said. The band had also considered interring the remains at the original site.
Last July, an exhibit opened at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Québec, showcasing five ancient shíshálh ancestors who were believed to be a powerful and wealthy family 4,000 years ago. Unprecedented three-dimensional animated facial reconstructions were created as part of the shíshálh Archeological Research Project.
Meanwhile, the community could soon learn more about its past. At the end of the month, an archeological team from the University of Winnipeg will be arriving on the Coast to pursue a dig by the shores of Storm Bay north of Sechelt Inlet.
“They found a huge pile of midden,”said Paull, adding that other sites may also be explored. “There are other equally as important areas that could be researched, places where beads have been found, but one piece at a time.”
