A B.C. property owner found 2 skulls while digging a garden. They didn’t expect the fees that followed
CBC
The discovery of human remains on an empty lot in North Kamloops, B.C., is prompting a local lawyer to warn property buyers about the costs associated with archaeological findings.
It all started last June when the owner decided they wanted to build a small garden on the empty lot, which they’d purchased in 2004, for residents of a neighbouring seniors facility.
“Within two scoops of a backhoe wielded by a contractor, two skulls were unearthed,” says Vancouver-based commercial real estate lawyer Christine Elliott, who represents the property owner.
Elliott said work stopped immediately, and police and the local First Nation, Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, were notified.
The next day, the First Nation issued a statement declaring that the remains were ancestral, of cultural significance, and that the site was deemed sacred.
“For Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc, the discovery of ancestral remains is not a matter of property or debate rather it is a matter of responsibility,” Kúkwpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said in a statement on Jan. 20. “These are our relatives, and our laws and cultural protocols obligate us to care for them with dignity and respect.”
Archaeologist Joanne Hammond, who is not involved with this site, said it’s no surprise someone would find historical items in that area — even though it’s in a fairly developed neighbourhood, surrounded by homes and businesses.
“We’re standing on a sandy hilltop in the middle of a valley … where people have lived for 10,000 years, so if I were looking for a site, I would start here,” she said.
Weeks went by and Elliott struggled to get answers about what was happening at the site, if anything.
Seven months after the initial finding, Elliott says her client has racked up more than $130,000 in bills related to the situation so far — $50,000 in archaeological fees and $88,000 in legal — and there is no support to help them recoup any of it.
As the landowner continues to incur costs, the future of the site remains uncertain, Elliott added.
According to the province, no extensive archaeological work has been completed at the site other than a preliminary field reconnaissance survey, which it says doesn't provide conclusive evidence as to the extent of the archaeological site.
It’s not the first time a property owner has run into some setbacks and unexpected costs after learning their land may be home to something of historical or cultural value in B.C.; a CBC News story dating back to 2010 shows a similar situation on Vancouver Island, where a property owner had to pay thousands of dollars in archaeological fees after remains were found when she was starting construction on a new house.
Casimir said First Nations have long called for the reformation of the Heritage Conservation Act, which is intended to facilitate the protection and conservation of “heritage property” in B.C. — something that, just this week, Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said has been postponed.
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