‘Skeena MLA Dave Parker and representatives from the city of
‘Terrace, B.C. Hydro, Minstry of Highways and Kitselas Indian Band
as well as a few others toured the Kitselas area July 27 to determine ©
the feasibility of putting in.an all-weathe road ahd’ power fo the’ area.”

‘for the fall.’

-_ Terrace Review — Wednesday, August 8, 1990 B7

Above, the entourage examines Bill Penner’s Kitselas sawmill.
Penner, a few other land owners and the Kitselas people all stand to
benefit if the new services are installed. A second meeting is planned

Kitselas revival depends on road

by Tod Strachan

"I hope by the end of ’91 there
will be both a road and power to
Kitselas." That was MLA Dave
Parker’s. comment after a tour of
the old Kitselas Reserve and the
surrounding area last Friday. On
this tour were Parker and represen-
tatives from the City of Terrace,
the Ministry of Highways and B.C.
Hydro, as well as Kitselas chief
councillor Mel Bevan and Kitselas
mill owner Bill Penner.

Seeking an all-weather road and
a hydroelectric connection to old

‘Kitselas village may seem like a

trivial matter. Few people. live

there, at least on a year-round -

basis. To people like Jake Penner,
Kitselas, natives and a few other
people, though, it is.important. The
existing road is only one lane and

impassable: for much of the year.

A little rain turns the road to mud,
and in the winter only the portion

that is gazetted highway is main--

tained, -

And ‘for .the Kilselas people,
year-round road access and power
‘mean much-more than just being

able to use their land. For ‘the

Kitsélas people, these amenities
could provide.an important link to
ue past. [t could mean a return to

a. way. of . life unwillingly “left |

‘behind about 25. years ago.
” Kitselas village is located on the
west side of the Skecna River

about cight miles. northeast of

Terrace. Around the turn of the
century it was a boom town. White

settlers outnumbered natives as

they waited for tunnels to be built
that would provide the rail link to
Terrace. Kitselas was an important
staging point for the transport of
cargo by riverboat to the interior.
Once the railway was completed,
most of the white settlers in Kit-
selas moved to Terrace, leaving
the Kitselas people to their land
and their traditional ways. In the
mid-1950's, though, the traditional

ways of the Kitselas people was

changed. Perhaps forever.

It began when several homes
burned to the ground. These homes
needed to be replaced, of course,

but because their village was not.
‘located on a government-desig- .

nated Indian reserve, the residents
would have no part in- planning
their own destiny.

According to Kitselas chief coun-
‘cillor Mel Bevan, the Kitselas had
their own money that had been

‘earned from logging, and they had

plans to rebuild their homes. In the
mid-1950's, however, native

people weren't allowed to decide -

how they spent their money, Deci-
sions. of such importance, it was
believed at that time, had to be
made: by. ‘white bureaucrats in
Ottawa; And’ this they did. - The

Kitselas people were told that

‘without road access ‘and power
they would have to move... their
village was "dead".

The death of their village was
slow, however, says Bevan. It took
almost 10 years for the govern-
ment to sort out the details, and in
1964 the Kitselas people were
moved to a small 17-acre Reserve
called "Kulspai" (now known as
Kitselas) on Queensway Drive in
Thornhill. It was. close to schools
and shopping. It was, in Ottawa’s
eyes, convenient.

Adding insult to injury, the gov-
ernment used the money the Kit-
sclas people had earned themselves
to pay for the move which none of
them wanted. Many didn’t care for
this location, though, and moved
into, and were eventually lost in,

Terrace itself.

But some stayed on, the new
reserve; even though their new
village was far removed from
Kitselas. Traditionally, Kulspai had

- never been anything ‘more than a

portage point to Lakelse Lake and
Kitamaat. "It was never intended to
be a village," says Bevan. "But it
was an alternative to living in
town."

Over time; even the Indian name
of their new. village was changed.
The name: Kulspai was at some
point changed to Kitselas, and to

this day Says Bevan, they are still
aren’t sure- who made that change
or-whye

In -spite of: it S convenience,
however, the ‘relocation of: the
Kitsclas people hasn’t bcen a great

success. Those who moved to

Terrace have not flourished even
with their-efforts to adapt to the
white man’s ways. And over the
years many lost their legal status
as Indians. Recent legislation has
sought to restore the Native culture
by returning their status and allow-
ing them io move back to the
reserve. Four or five years ago,
however, moving back became a
problem. The Kitselas Reserve in
Thomhill is full.

The need for more room sparked
renewed hope for moving back to

old Kitselas but, says Bevan, lo the .

white man this was impractical. It
still lacked good road access and
had no power, Instead, Indian
Affairs suggested they move to
another part of their reserve east of
Kitselas Canyon. There was plenty.
of room, it was close to Hwy..16,
and a source of electric power was
nearby. Housing is under construc-
tion at this site, but for many Kit-
selas people it’s still not an accept-
able site. —

The government had decided
these people didn’t need six-acre -
plots of land like they would have
at old Kitselas; a half acre was
plenty for anyone. According to

-Bevan, Indian Affairs believes that

a roof over your head is enough.
"But all you can do is watch TV,"
he says. "You can’t enjoy living."

The Kitselas people have never
lost the dream they would one day
retum to their original home, and
that day may be drawing nearer.
Parker says Highways and B.C.
Hydro officials are now looking at
all the options in preparation for a
second meeting sometime this fall.
It’s not going to be easy, though.
Hydro needs a Ministry of High-
ways road and year-round custom-
ers before they can put in power.
And Highways have a problem,
they don’t have the land to build a
road. The existing road is a combi-
nation of municipal, private, crown
and forestry road.

NOTICE FROM MILLS MEMORIAL
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Saturday, August 11 and Saturday, August 18
. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m!!! |

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