The Shuswap – North Okanagan, Secwépemc Territory, British Columbia – The Shuswap Trail Alliance and the Secwépemc Landmarks Project, with support and in partnership with Splatsín, Adams Lake Band, the Neskonlith Band, Shuswap Tourism, the City of Salmon Arm, and the Province of British Columbia, have been awarded a Heritage Legacy Fund award of $10,000 under the Heritage Awareness Program.

 

The purpose of the Secwépemc Landmarks Project is, in the spirit of reconciliation, to create awareness of Secwépemc traditional territory through the installation of 100 trailhead posts, 8 Secwépemc Landmark sculptures modelled after Secwépemc Coyote Pillars, and 8 connected interpretive panels that feature Secwépemc oral histories, place names, culture and stories connected to the Shuswap Lakes region.

 

The Heritage Legacy Fund award will support the research, design, publishing and installation of 8 interpretive panels; giving context for the project and featuring Secwépemc oral histories, language, and place names under the guidance of the Secwépemc Lakes Elders Advisory Group. The Secwépemc Lakes Elders Advisory Committee (made up of Elders from the four local Secwépemc Bands) are instrumental in guiding the process of this work.

 

Six interpretive panels will be situated next to the Sentinel Secwépemc Landmarks on highly visited access points and trail systems in the Shuswap Lakes region, and two of these interpretive panels will be located beside the two Main Secwépemc Landmarks in Memorial Park in Chase BC and the Marine Peace Park in Salmon Arm BC.

 

This project will raise awareness of intangible heritage such as oral histories, language, and place names in Secwépemc traditional territory by installing these interpretive panels throughout the Shuswap Lakes region at key, highly visited areas, to encourage visitors connect to oral histories, place names, and language within the landscape. The interpretive panels will engage both locals and visitors alike in learning about Secwépemc cultural landscapes and the social and ecological importance of the Shuswap Lakes region.

 

 

Since June 2005, the Heritage Legacy Fund has supported heritage conservation in British Columbia with $2.1 million of project funding. The funds are made possible through a $5 million endowment established in 2003 by the Province of British Columbia.

 

Applications are received from non-profits, local governments and First Nations, seeking funding to support all kinds of heritage work from building maintenance to large scale conservation, from signage to exhibitions. Funding for heritage planning projects was added in 2017, and in 2018 a new funding stream was created to support partnership projects between heritage organizations and Indigenous peoples.

 

Of the over 150 grants provided to date, projects have included life safety upgrades to the Lim Sai Hor Kow Mock Benevolent Society building in Vancouver, the creation of a digital heritage trail on Bowen Island, the revitalization of the Miner’s Union Hall in Rossland and a BC Heritage Fairs online exhibit, to name a few.

 

For more information about projects funded by the Heritage Legacy Fund, please visit www.heritagebc.ca.

 

The Secwépemc Landmarks partners gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia, Heritage BC, the three Secwépemc Bands: Adams Lake Band, Neskonlith Band, and Splatsín, Shuswap Tourism, the Shuswap Trail Alliance, and the City of Salmon Arm.

 

 

Photo: Viewpoint from Bastion Mountain overlooking the Salmon Arm Bay, Shuswap Lake. (Photo: Jacob 'Sutra' Brett)

 

c/o The Shuswap Trail Alliance

250-832-0102

associatedirector@shuswaptrails.com

www.shuswaptrails.com