Prince George, B.C. – The Cheslatta Carrier Nation and the provincial government have signed a framework agreement they hope will “heal historic wounds and shape a better future.”

Premier Christy Clark was in Cheslatta Lake today to commemorate the occasion.

“We cannot change history, but working together, we can create more opportunity and sustainable prosperity for the Cheslatta people,” she said. “With goodwill and commitment we are working to chart a new path to reconciliation and the agreement we’ve signed today moves us closer to that goal.”

Through the agreement both parties will explore economic opportunities in the resource sector, power infrastructure to support future industrial development, cultural, heritage and training initiatives and financial payments. Potential transfers of Crownland and resource-use tenures for economic and social development will also be examined.

Overall, the framework agreement provides the Cheslatta with early benefits up to a maximum of $2.3 million.

It’s been over six decades since the Cheslatta people were displaced from their homes and cultural sites to make way for construction of Kenny Dam in northwestern, B.C.

Over those years, the Chelslatta regularly recover skeletal remains of their ancestors on the lakeshore and estimate that more than 60 Cheslatta graves have been destroyed.