Secwépemc FREP Culture and Heritage Monitoring Protocol Evaluation Project

The Secwépemc Cultural Heritage Evaluation project is collaborative pilot project with the Forest Range Evaluation Program (FREP).

This project is to evaluate and create a Secwépemc Cultural Heritage (CHR) Monitoring Protocol.  The last update to the Protocol was in 2016.

There has been challenges with the current Protocol as it has not met the needs of indigenous nations and communities as it relates to the post monitoring impacts of current forest and range management practices.

The primary purpose of this project is to identify Secwépemc interests and recommendations for CHR monitoring process, to evaluate and build an agreement of how the FREP CHR Monitoring Protocol could be modified or re-written to address Secwépemc collective interests.

The Forest Act currently defines a cultural heritage resource as: “An object, a site or the location of a traditional societal practice that is of historical, cultural or archaeological significance to British Columbia, a community or an Aboriginal people.” 

Over the past year, the SRSS brought 16 of the communities together in two Secwépemc Nation-wide forums to discuss the current government approach to cultural heritage monitoring (which are under forestry/range legislation) and gain a mutual understanding of the concerns, challenges and issues with the CHR current protocol.

The SRSS is committed to involve, engage, inform and collaborate with all Secwépemc communities in conducting an inquiry and evaluation of the FREP CHR Monitoring Protocol.  It is important to us to ensure all communities feel connected and involved in this project.

Project Guiding Principles

• Collaborative and Inclusive.
• Open, Honest and Meaningful.
• Reciprocal
• Transparent and accountable.
• Honor the interconnectedness and interdependence of tmicw and the people.

We are looking forward to continuing this work with “out of the box” ideas and strategies (like we heard this past year) of what a Secwépemc cultural heritage monitoring protocol should look like.