Those whose remains are buried on Grace Islet can soon rest in peace. The sa国际传媒 government said this week it will be part of a partnership that will buy the rocky islet in Saltspring Island鈥檚 Ganges Harbour. The partnership includes the Nature Conservancy of sa国际传媒 and First Nations.
The arrangement hasn鈥檛 been finalized, but the Nature Conservancy will own the islet and with First Nations will conduct cultural and ecological restoration.
It鈥檚 a satisfactory conclusion to what has been a contentious issue. It will be even more satisfactory if it can lead to changes in regulations and procedures governing other First Nations burial sites and places of cultural significance. The provincial government has promised to review its heritage law.
Grace Islet sits a short distance from the Ganges shoreline. In the 1970s, it was recorded as part of the ancient First Nations Shiya鈥檋wt waht village. In 1990, an Alberta businessman bought the islet with the idea of building his retirement home on it.
In 2006, human remains were discovered on the islet. An archeological assessment confirmed the islet was a burial site with at least 15 cairns and other cultural features, possibly dating back more than 1,000 years.
Concerns were raised when the property鈥檚 owner began construction of his home in 2012, after meeting the legal requirements of the province and the Capital Regional District. First Nations, politicians from various parties and other people protested the construction. Several demonstrations took place on and near the islet.
A claim filed by Cowichan Tribes stated that by granting private ownership of Grace Islet, the Crown infringed on aboriginal title to a known burial site and registered archeological site in an area exclusively occupied by Cowichan people before European contact.
Slow to be involved at first, the province stepped in and directed the Ministry of Forests to work with the landowner and First Nations leaders. As a result, construction on the house stopped last December. Now the issue appears to be headed toward resolution.
The Grace Islet agreement wards off what could have been protracted and expensive court battles. Regardless of the outcome, legal wranglings would have created more animosity and contention.
It would be difficult to imagine anyone trying to build in a known graveyard. Apart from cultural and religious reasons, provincial regulations protect registered cemeteries. But burial sites that date before 1846 fall under the Heritage Conservation Act and don鈥檛 have the same degree of protection.
So one group鈥檚 burial site is a cemetery, while another group鈥檚 burial ground is an archeological site. First Nations representatives rightly say that鈥檚 not fair.
Our regional history goes back millennia before explorations of the sa国际传媒 coast by the Spanish and the British in the 18th century and the establishment of a Hudson鈥檚 Bay Co. fort in the 1840s. This region has been inhabited for thousands of years.
Evidence abounds of the rich cultures that flourished here. Almost any construction runs the risk of encountering archeological evidence, including unknown burial sites. However, protocols worked out with First Nations help handle such situations without conflict, even in ways that bring people closer together. Human remains are treated with respect and reburied according to First Nations traditions.
It鈥檚 in that spirit that the province and First Nations should sit down together and work out procedures and regulations that can prevent collisions between development and heritage, to keep places of peace from becoming places of contention.
