Site C dam to be given Indigenous name after flooding Treaty 8 territory

After flooding Treaty 8 territory to build the Site C project, BC Hydro says it plans to give the $16-billion dam and its newly created reservoir Indigenous language names.

In a recent report, the public utility says Indigenous language names were recommended and “advanced for consideration” following BC Hydro’s engagement with 13 Indigenous nations affected by the project on Treaty 8 territory in northeast B.C. 

It’s a move that has prompted at least one First Nations leader to call the plan inappropriate.

“I find it extremely offensive that they are considering placing an Indigenous name on it,” West Moberly First Nations Chief Roland Willson told The Narwhal.

BC Hydro flooded 83 kilometres of the Peace River this fall to create a large reservoir that also partially flooded seven of the river’s tributaries. Reservoir filling followed almost a decade of dam construction, overshadowed by huge cost overruns, First Nations lawsuits and serious geotechnical issues that were hidden from the public. 

“Participation in the naming of Site C provides the opportunity to acknowledge the presence of the project on Indigenous traditional lands and contributes to reconciliation,” BC Hydro’s report to the B.C. Utilities Commission says. 

But Willson said giving the Site C dam and its reservoir Indigenous names flies in the face of reconciliation, noting his nation is deeply impacted by the project. 

BC Hydro has various settlements with First Nations as Site C flooding wraps up

West Moberly, along with other Treaty 8 nations, lost traditional hunting, fishing and trapping grounds and culturally and spiritually important sites to the publicly funded hydro project, which will help power B.C.’s new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry. Reservoir filling began in late August and finished earlier this month.

“They jam this thing down our throats,” Willson said. “They walk around all over the place talking about the agreements they have. They don’t have agreements with anybody. They have settlements.” 

In an emailed response to questions from The Narwhal, BC Hydro spokesperson Greg Alexis said the public utility has signed Site C dam impact benefits agreements with eight Treaty 8 First Nations that include cash payments, contracting opportunities, land transfers and land protection measures. Alexis said the total value of payments to impacted nations is confidential. 

Willson pointed out West Moberly still has a civil claim focused on the impact of the first two dams on the Peace River, after reluctantly agreeing in 2022 to a partial settlement related to the Site C project — the third dam.

“We haven’t completely let that court case go. They basically beat us into submission on this. We just couldn’t fight with them anymore. We don’t have the billions of dollars that they have to fight in court on things,” he said. “And so for them to say, ‘We’re going to honour the nations by giving it an Indigenous name,’ that’s kind of abuse. … They abuse the nations and then do something nice, name a dam after them.”

Alexis said local Indigenous nations were invited last year to participate in the naming of the Site C dam and reservoir. He reiterated the statement in BC Hydro’s report to the utilities commission, saying participation in the naming process contributes to reconciliation and provides an opportunity to acknowledge the impacts of the project on Treaty 8 rights and cultural interests.

Some recommended naming options in an Indigenous language were selected following a series of meetings and workshops with participating nations, Alexis said. The recommendations are being considered and, once a decision has been made, permanent names will be shared with the nations and then with the general public, he said. Willson said West Moberly did not participate in the name selection process.

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BC Hydro did not answer questions asking for the shortlisted names, who will make the final decision about names and when it will be made. The utility also did not answer a question asking if First Nations have expressed concerns about giving the dam and reservoir permanent Indigenous language names. 

Site C dam project has significant adverse impacts on First Nations 

A review panel for the federal and provincial governments found the Site C dam would have significant effects on First Nations hunting, non-tenured trapping and fishing that could not be mitigated and would impede the capacity to transfer knowledge and culture to future generations. The panel disagreed with BC Hydro’s claim that Indigenous traditional practices were adaptable and could be reproduced elsewhere.

According to information the Treaty 8 Tribal Association submitted to the review panel, the Site C dam was slated to destroy 42 sites of cultural and spiritual value, including spiritual places, medicine collection areas, teaching areas and places for ceremonies and prayers. It was also poised to destroy 77 habitation places and 30 sites with First Nations transportation values, including portions of trails and canoe and boat routes along the Peace River and its tributaries.

BC Hydro’s report to the utilities commission says it is consulting with First Nations about plans for monitoring Indigenous burial sites outside the reservoir that may be impacted by erosion or slope instability. 

The report also says BC Hydro has worked for the past nine years with Indigenous nations impacted by the Site C project to complete numerous projects that “document and commemorate” historical use of the area.

Projects include educational signage at a viewpoint, a series of videos documenting historic use of the Peace River and the perspective of Indigenous nations on the impacts of the Site C dam, as well as “a travelling exhibit of artifacts uncovered during construction that has been displayed in numerous communities,” the report says.

In the report, BC Hydro also says it continues to work with Indigenous nations on the development of a future cultural centre, which the utility described as “an important accommodation for the cultural impacts of Site C.” The facility will “showcase local Indigenous culture and history in the region,” and store and display many of the artifacts uncovered during construction of the Site C project, according to the report.

Alexis said BC Hydro is not able to provide a final cost for the cultural centre “as it’s still too early in the process,” adding the money to build the centre is included in the Site C project budget.

Willson pointed out the visitor centre at the W.A.C. Bennett dam, the first dam built on the Peace River, has a plaque on the wall acknowledging its devastating impacts on First Nations. “And they apologize for what they did to us. And then while that’s hanging on the wall there, they’re flooding Site C. You know, they’re doing it again.”

First Nations artifacts should belong to First Nations, Willson said. “[They] shouldn’t be sitting in W.A.C. Bennett or Site C cultural heritage site. That should belong to the First Nations, and they should be sitting in our museum. They’ll spend $100 million on a cultural centre to show that they try and respect the First Nations and honour them — while they destroy their culture.”

The Site C dam’s current name derives from a master plan for five dams on the Peace River created by the former B.C. government led by then-premier W.A.C. Bennett. Potential dam sites were labelled with the first five letters of the alphabet. 

The W.A.C. Bennett dam became operational in 1968, while the second, the Peace Canyon dam, was completed in 1980. Together the two dams supply about 38 per cent of power generated annually by BC Hydro. The Site C dam is expected to add an additional 1,100 megawatts of capacity — enough electricity, according to BC Hydro, to power 450,000 homes. 

Other First Nations most impacted by the Site C project — Saulteau First Nations, Halfway River First Nation, Prophet River First Nation and Doig River First Nations — did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.