Treaty 8 Statement on Site C

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Nun wa dee Stewardship Society 9824 98A Avenue Fort St. John British Columbia V1J 1S2 Office (250) 785-8508 Fax (250) 785-8507

June 7, 2017 Our file: 6502 Sent via email Original will not follow in the mail The Honourable Christy Clark Premier, Province of British Columbia West Annex, Parliament Buildings Victoria, British Columbia, V8V 1X4 Jessica McDonald Chief Executive Officer British Columbia Hydro Power and Authority 333 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 5R3 Jessica.McDonald@bchydro.com Premier Clark and Ms. McDonald, Je aa haanach’e: RE:

Site C Project's Cache Creek Highway 29 Realignment Unlawful and Risks Wildly Overstated

As you know, we are the chiefs of Prophet River First Nation and West Moberly First Nations. We write to correct the public record regarding claims you have made in response to the Honourable John Horgan’s request to postpone construction of the Highway 29 Realignment at Cache Creek as part of the Site C Project.

BC Hydro’s Cache Creek Realignment Violates Environmental Assessment Approvals, likely to be Suspended In recent days, you have both made headlines by announcing BC Hydro’s intention to push ahead with the realignment of Highway 29 at Cache Creek, letting contracts by June 15th and forcing local farmers from their homes by the end of the month. But what has not been reported is that a Dunne-za gravesite identified in June 2016 is also located on the centerline of the proposed highway realignment. The new highway would also destroy a nearby sweat lodge and other important cultural sites in the area that has and continues to be used by the Dunne-za (Beaver People) for thousands of years. On March 22 and 23, 2017, we met with Government and BC Hydro staff to discuss the Cache Creek Realignment. We shared a March 1, 2015 archeological report confirming that the gravesite identified at Cache Creek should be considered a human burial site of the Dunne-za. This report has not been challenged by your archaeologists. We also presented a March 15, 2017 engineering and geological report confirming that an alternate highway realignment exists which would avoid the gravesite, sweat lodge,


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