Adams Lake Indian Band Cultural Heritage Assessment (2020)

Beginning in 2019, Kwusen worked collaboratively with the Adams Lake Indian Band (ALIB) to conduct a Cultural Heritage Assessment (CHA) related to the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) Project. The CHA was designed to assist ALIB in assessing the potential effects of the proposed Project on ALIB’s Cultural Heritage, Indigenous Land Use (ILU), and Secwépemc Rights and Title, as well as  the proposed Project’s contribution to cumulative effects. Tasks included CHA mapping interviews, a community focus group, a community data review workshop, and a review of previous CHA and TUS research. Recordings and spatial data from the interviews, focus group, and workshop  were uploaded to ALIB’s Community KnowledgeKeeper (CKK). Kwusen produced a CHA report that included a detailed ethnographic background, a results section outlining community concerns about Project effects, an assessment of Project effects on ALIB’s Secwépemc Rights and Title, and a discussion of mitigation measures. All information and findings from this study are accessible to ALIB for future use in their Community KnowledgeKeeper database.

Kwusen has been working with ALIB for more than 7 years. Under Dave Nordquist’s direction, our research team has collaborated with ALIB’s staff and community researchers on ten ALIB-directed studies. We are excited to continue to work with ALIB on upcoming projects, including a community book and land use planning project.