A touring route is being developed to honour communities displaced by the Columbia River Treaty.
Ingrid Strauss, a project manager with the provincial Columbia River Treaty team, said a request for proposals has been issued for the project with a closing date of Oct. 27.
She said in speaking with Columbia Basin residents over the last decade, they have “heard consistently” of a “strong desire for tangible acknowledgement of losses and other impacts to the people and communities and land” as a result of the treaty.
The treaty, adopted in the 1960s, resulted in the construction of several dams, the loss of 110,000 hectares (including agricultural land), the relocation or disappearance of communities on the Arrow Lakes, Duncan Lake, and in the East Kootenay, and the displacement of about 2,000 people.
Strauss said the heritage project is a platform for local stories about the treaty’s impact and a way to “recognize and ensure the significance of key places and events are visible and preserved.”
She said that want to tell stories from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous viewpoints and provide a way for residents, visitors, and youth to learn about an important event in local history.
The project’s ultimate aim is to link those stories in a branded heritage touring route, featuring interpretive signs or displays at key locations, containing cultural and historical information about the treaty’s impacts. The signs would connect to an overarching regional story.
“We’re hoping by honouring, preserving and magnifying these stories to acknowledge the impact of the treaty and recognize what was lost,” Strauss said.
She said they have an outline of the route, which includes Cranbrook up to Valemont, over to Revelstoke, down the Arrow Lakes and Columbia River to Trail, across to Creston and back to Cranbrook. They are working with Kootenay Rockies Tourism on developing the exact route. A website is also expected to be part of the marketing.
The request for proposals for a contractor went out at the end of September. Strauss said the intent is to have displays in three to five communities ready by the end of 2024.