Bridge restoration project fosters reconciliation and opportunities
Dave Wharton photo
The New Pathways to Gold Society (NPTGS) recently extended an invitation to the Outdoor Recreation Council (ORCBC) to attend a ceremony and celebration to inaugurate and recognize the start of the 1926 Alexandra Bridge Rehabilitation Project. The NPTGS are ORCBC members, and it was my privilege and pleasure to attend this event as the representative of ORCBC, and to be introduced and welcomed.
This project is being undertaken collaboratively with Spuzzum First Nation. The Spuzzum First Nation has membership in NPGTS, and Cheryl Chapman is the Indigenous Co-Chair of NPGTS.
After initial welcomes and introductions, members of Spuzzum First Nation conducted an opening ceremony and traditional welcome, highlighting many aspects of their culture. I found this particularly interesting and informative.
Following remarks regarding the work to date and plans going forward from both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous directors of NPTGS, we were taken on a tour of the bridge site to see work underway and plans for the completion of the project explained.
I think that Spuzzum First Nation and NPTGS state their purpose much better than I am able, so the following are their words taken from their printed material:
“Restoring a transportation icon in an ancient, Indigenous landscape”.
“Standing on the 1926 Alexandra Bridge is like standing atop an iceberg of history. A natural west to east crossing point for millennia, Indigenous peoples, fur traders, gold rush fortune seekers, and railway workers have all used this crossing”.
“Connecting our ancient past to a bright future”
And, of course, I used this same crossing to participate in the day’s events, though granted on the much newer modern bridge immediately downstream.
The initial phase of the project will see restoration work completed on the bridge’s two support towers and other bridge infrastructure to ensure that residents of B.C. and visitors to the province can enjoy a safe and memorable visit to the bridge, accessed by a pleasant forest walk, cross the bridge on foot for magnificent views up and down the Fraser Canyon.
Going forward, the completed project will also include a nearby RV park and campsite for those on vacation.
ORCBC is committed to the process of reconciliation with all First Nations, but particularly those First Nations whose traditional territories are at this moment contained within or extend into the province of B.C. We recognize that much of the land that we now access for recreation and engage in our recreation on, lies within what are the traditional territories of First Nations. To help ORCBC move forward with the processes of Reconciliation, to understand what reconciliation means, and how it will impact on outdoor recreation in B.C., the ORCBC’s Board of Directors has struck a “Reconciliation Committee”. I sit on that committee, and I must confess that though I have strong opinions on what I think reconciliation should be, what it should look like, and how it may impact my ability to access the land to hike, paddle, and camp, to just sit quietly in a grove of trees; but I really don’t know what it will look like.
But on July 15th, away from the discussions held at the Boardroom table, away from all the opinions [mine included], the “what ifs”, the problems real and imagined; by the Old Bridge on Spuzzum First Nations traditional territory, I saw reconciliation “live”, in action. Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people working as partners, as equals, committed to preserving the history of the province, for the benefit of all residents. And in doing so, ensuring that Indigenous culture and traditions are fully represented in that history.
My very deep thanks to NPTGS for the invitation and to Spuzzum First Nation for welcoming me to their traditional territory.
Dave Wharton,
ORCBC Director.
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