File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today / Adam Donnelly)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

PROJECT UPDATE

More assessment work to be done ahead of Riverside Park flood protection project

Mar 31, 2021 | 3:34 PM

KAMLOOPS / TK’EMLUPS — Ahead of flood protection upgrades in Riverside Park, archaeology teams have unearthed several pieces of cultural significance.

During a semi-annual forum with Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and the City of Kamloops (Mar. 31), TteS archaeologist Leslie Lebourdais says teams have discovered several archaeological sites throughout the Riverside Park area.

Lebourdais told band and city councillors that several artifacts were found during a recent impact assessment for the Riverside Park flood protection project.

The project is needed to combat yearly flooding risk to sewer infrastructure running under Riverside Park. However prior to construction starting, an impact assessment had to be undertaken to ensure items of cultural and historial significant to the land and its people weren’t destroyed.

The findings from Tk’emlups archaeologists and Golder Associates indicate the park landscape as we see it now is not its natural state, and that there has been continuous occupation of the area for 3,000 to 4,000 years. Lebourdais noted the discoveries did not come as a surprise, as the area had already been identified as one of historical significance to Secwepemc peoples.

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The assessment began in September 2020, and additional work will be conducted in the summer months to further understanding of the area’s cultural significance. During the meeting, Capital Projects Manager Darren Crundwell noted the project timeline has been adjusted to work around the impact assessment work, fish migrations and flooding seasons, with a tentative start time in the third or fourth quarter of 2021.

Eventually, Tk’emlups leadership and the City hope to implement public education signage in the area to share the land’s story with the community.