For Indigenous governments

The Archaeology Branch recognizes the historical, cultural, scientific, spiritual and educational value of B.C.'s archaeological heritage to First Nations and Indigenous Peoples. 

Indigenous governments help to protect archaeological sites by contributing traditional knowledge, values, and participating in the consultative process. This page provides information and resources to help Indigenous governments in their archaeological work.

On this page

• Ancestral remains policy review - Summary of feedback
• Informed Contributors Layer
• Resource Inventory Standards course
• Unrecorded sites and the archaeological site inventory

Ancestral Remains Policy Review – Summary of engagement feedback

From August 2018 to January 2019, representatives from the Archaeology Branch met with Indigenous governments across the province to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with Archaeology Branch policies and processes in relation to the respectful treatment of ancestral remains. Notes from individual meetings were distributed to attendees. Archaeology Branch staff reviewed the content of all meeting notes and compiled a list of themes:

• Ancestral Remains Policy Review - Summary of engagement feedback (PDF, 221KB)

Informed Contributors Layer (ICL)

Archaeology Branch maintains an extensive inventory of archaeological information that helps support archaeological site protection, land‐use planning, decision‐making, and research in British Columbia. The inventory is comprised primarily of data collected by archaeologists and has not always reflected Indigenous knowledge of culturally sensitive areas. This can leave sites susceptible to harm when development or other activities occur in an area.

To address this issue, the Archaeology Branch is updating policies, processes, and tools to better incorporate shared Indigenous knowledge into its practices. A new tool being used is an Informed Contributors Layer (ICL), a digital map that displays areas that Indigenous knowledge‐keepers and other informed contributors wish to identify as culturally or archaeologically significant in the Province’s records. The ICL is maintained in the Remote Access to Archaeological Data (RAAD). Participating in the development of the ICL is voluntary, and the contributor can specify what information is held in confidence by the Archaeology Branch and what can be shared with approved RAAD users who have signed an Information Sharing Agreement (PDF, 1.6MB).

Resource Inventory Standards Course (RISC)

RISC is on hold while the Archaeology Branch, in collaboration with the First Peoples Cultural Council, reviews the course content, delivery and administration. Please send any questions to archaeology@gov.bc.ca.

Unrecorded sites and the archaeological site inventory

Indigenous governments can incorporate information on unrecorded sites into the archaeological site inventory. Once in the inventory, this information is used in land and development planning. See The British Columbia Archaeological Site Inventory and the Provincial Heritage Register Policy for more information.