Tk’emlups councillor asks for respect following bone discovery in Valleyview
KAMLOOPS — A Tk’emlups te Secwepemc councillor is asking the public for respect following the discovery of a bone during hydro work out in Valleyview.
Councillor Jeanette Jules confirms the bone discovered on Aug. 17 was a human bone, though investigators won’t know how old it is until carbon dating is completed.
The discovery was made while BC Hydro was conducting excavation work along Valleyview Drive. BC Hydro halted work in the area due to its “chance find procedure” — a process that stops work immediately if a potential artifact or heritage object is discovered at a work site.
Jules says the band is now following its own ancestral remains policy which includes exhuming the body — should more remains be found in the area — and re-interring those remains on its reserve.