Archaeology field school planned this spring at Tse'k'wa near Fort St. John.

A third archaeological field school is planned this spring and summer at the Tse'k'wa National Historic Site near Fort St. John, B.C.; the cave records about 12,500 years of human settlement and is sacred to Doig River, Prophet River and West Moberly First Nations.

Tse'k'wa National Historic Site, about 12 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John, B.C., will host a third archaeological field school this spring and summer. The cave preserves a record of roughly 12,500 years of human settlement and environmental change dating back to the last ice age. The site is a sacred place for Doig River, Prophet River and West Moberly First Nations, whose Dane-zaa ancestors inhabited the area for generations. The three nations formed the Tse'k'wa Heritage Society and purchased the land in 2012 to preserve it as an interpretive centre with cultural teachings and community gatherings. Site and project details: - The planned field school follows earlier sessions held in 2022 and 2024, and members of the three nations take part alongside students. - Tse'k'wa's soil layers are largely undisturbed, yielding stone tools, animal bones from an ancient grassland, and fragments of obsidian. - A small stone bead recovered at the site is estimated at about 10,500 years old and is reported as the oldest example of human adornment found north of the Yucatán Peninsula. - Two ravens were buried at the same spot a thousand years apart, and archaeologists have reported this as indicating possible ritual significance. - Veteran archaeologist Richard Gilbert, who worked on excavations in the 1980s and 1990s, co-hosted a public lecture about the site on Jan. 22 with UNBC professor Farid Rahemtulla. - 2026 will be the last field school for now because the site's current permit is set to expire. Summary: The field school continues both research and community-led cultural work that supports Dane-zaa oral histories and preserves material from an unusually intact site. 2026 will be the last field school for now because the current permit expires, and future activity is undetermined at this time.