Archaeological Impact Assessment: 715 7th Street; 718 Veteran’s Avenue; and Parcel G, Block 78, District Lot 174, Keremeos, B.C. HCA Permit 2019-0054

Photo of study area, looking north-northwest

Prepared for Lower Similkameen Indian Band 1420 Hwy. 3, Cawston, BC PO Box 100, Keremeos, BC, V0X 1N0 & Lower Similkameen Community Services Society Office: 310 Veterans Ave, Keremeos, BC Mail: 720 3rd Street, Keremeos, BC, V0X 1N3

Prepared by 4 Seasons Heritage Consulting 1185 McPhee Road, Naramata, BC, V0H 1N1

June 28, 2019 Grant of License

I, Meghan Fisher, confirm that I am the copyright owner (or a copyright owner) of this permit report, and for good and valuable consideration I irrevocably grant a non-exclusive license to the Province of British Columbia, for a term equal to the life of the copyright commencing on the date of execution below, to make copies of the reports, including all appendices and photos, and to provide such copies to anyone, at the discretion of the Province, either at no charge or at the cost incurred by the Province in making and distributing the copies. All parties, except the party for whom the report was prepared, acknowledge that any use or interpretation of this report is at the sole risk and liability of the subsequent user(s).

Executed this ___ day of ____, 2019, by

Signature of Copyright Owner

Owner/Archaeologist

Affiliation

2019-0054

Permit Number

Page 1 of 36 Credits

Principal Investigator: Meghan Fisher, BA, RPCA Field Personnel: Meghan Fisher (Field Director) Robb Marty, BA Tiinesha Begaye, BA, Archaeologist (LSIB) Shannon Terbasket, RISC (LSIB)

Report Authors: Robb Marty Meghan Fisher

Report Graphics & Photos: Meghan Fisher Robb Marty

Page 2 of 36 Management Summary

This archaeological impact assessment (AIA) was undertaken at the location of a proposed commercial and multi-unit residential complex development (Figure 3). This project was done on behalf of the Lower Similkameen Community Services Society (LSCSS) and the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB), and in collaboration with the LSIB Referrals Department. The area was visually assessed on January 17 and subsurface tested on April 1, 2019. The results of the assessments are presented in this report.

The study area is located in the Similkameen Valley, on a portion of the historic floodplain of the Similkameen River, within the Village of Keremeos, BC. The study area is comprised of three adjacent lots—715 7th Street; 718 Veteran’s Avenue; and Parcel G, Block 78, District Lot 174—situated near the eastern end of the downtown core. The area has been significantly impacted through past activities including the former Kettle Valley Railway (the historic train station was located across the road from the study area, on the south side of modern-day Veteran’s Avenue), and the historic Keremeos Hotel which was located at the northeast corner of 7th Street and Veteran’s Avenue before it was destroyed by fire in 2014 (Moorhouse).

The AIA was conducted on April 1, 2019 with a crew of four (2 archaeologists and 2 field technicians). A subsurface testing program was conducted within the study area, where not impeded by asphalt or judgmentally determined to be of low archaeological potential due to significant disturbance. A total of 38 shovel tests (STs) were excavated; all were negative for archaeological materials or features.

No further archaeological work is recommended for 715 7th Street, 718 Veteran’s Avenue or Parcel G, Block 78, District Lot 174 in the Village of Keremeos.

While no archaeological materials or features were observed during this AIA, there is always the possibility that small, undiscovered archaeological sites or isolated finds may be present within the study area. Users of this report should be aware that even the most thorough investigation may fail to reveal all archaeological resources that may exist in a given area. Due to this potential, it is recommended that in the event that archaeological materials or features are encountered that all ground disturbance in the vicinity must stop, and the Archaeology Branch, LSIB, and a qualified archaeologist be contacted.

All archaeological sites, whether recorded or unidentified, are protected by legislation and may not be altered, damaged, moved, excavated in, or disturbed in any way without a permit issued under Section 12 or Section 14 of the Heritage Conservation Act.

Page 3 of 36 Acknowledgements

4 Seasons Heritage Consulting (4SHC) would like to thank the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) and the Lower Similkameen Community Services Society (LSCSS) for allowing us to undertake this project in Keremeos. It has been and continues to be a privilege to work with all parties towards a collaborative and best-practices approach for managing cultural heritage resources within the Similkameen. We would like to thank Wendy Hawkes and Nicole Mack in the LSIB Referrals Department for their leadership in administering this project, and the LSCSS, specifically, Sarah Martin and Brian Mennell for their commitment to developing meaningful community to community relationships for this project, and beyond. We would also like to thank LSIB field technician and archaeologist Tiinesha Begaye and LSIB field technician Shannon Terbasket for their contributions and hard work in the field! Thank you also to Heritage Specialist and Permit Officer, Joel Kinzie. Your thoughtful input is always appreciated. limləmt!

Page 4 of 36 Table of Contents Grant of License ...... 1 Credits ...... 2 Management Summary...... 3 Acknowledgements ...... 4 List of Figures ...... 6 Introduction ...... 7 Objectives and Scope of Work ...... 9 Proposed Project ...... 10 Project Area ...... 11 Statement on Archaeology, and Indigenous Use and Occupancy ...... 11 Description of Study Area ...... 11 Biogeoclimatic Zone ...... 12 Paleo-environmental Setting ...... 12 Culture History ...... 13 Early Period ...... 14 Middle Period ...... 15 Late Period ...... 15 Ethnographic ...... 16 Previous Archaeology and Archaeological Potential within 3 kms of the Study Area ...... 21 Expected Archaeological Site Types ...... 22 Methodology ...... 23 Background Research...... 23 Archaeological Potential Assessment ...... 23 Field Methodology ...... 23 Reporting ...... 24 Site Significance Criteria ...... 24 Impact Identification ...... 24 Results...... 25 AIA Survey ...... 25 Evaluation of Research ...... 27 Management Recommendations ...... 27

Page 5 of 36 References Cited ...... 28 Appendix A: Shovel Test Log ...... 32

List of Figures

Figure 1. Study Area Overview Map, showing modelled archaeological potential and registered archaeology sites in the vicinity...... 7 Figure 2. Study Area Midrange Map, showing individual property boundaries...... 8 Figure 3. Proposed Development Plan Map, provided by proponent...... 10 Figure 4. View of testable portion of study area, looking east...... 25 Figure 5. Negative ST 35, illustrating homogenous sediments observed in study area...... 25 Figure 6. Detailed Results Map ...... 26

Page 6 of 36

Introduction

This report details the results of an Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA) conducted by 4 Seasons Heritage Consulting, in collaboration with the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) Referrals Department, on behalf of the Lower Similkameen Community Services Society. The study area is located on the northeast corner of 7th Street and Veteran’s Avenue, in Keremeos, BC. The study area, which is subject to a proposed commercial and multi-unit residential development, consists of three adjacent private properties: 715 7th Street (PID 027-818-161), 718 Veteran’s Avenue (PID 024-552-089), and a parcel with no civic address (PID 024-552-071)(Figure 1 and Figure 2). The properties are situated on a portion of the former Similkameen River floodplain where the terrain is relatively flat. The western most parcel is the former location of the historic Keremeos Hotel which was destroyed by fire in 2014 (Moorhouse).

Figure 1. Study Area Overview Map, showing modelled archaeological potential and registered archaeology sites in the vicinity.

Page 7 of 36 5453000 5453500 5454000 5454500 5455000 1:5million 293500 Legend General Study Area Study General

Road(local) interval Contour20m area study LSCSS ArchaeologicalSite Similkameen River Similkameen 294000 LSCSS Keremeos Keremeos LSCSS Subdivision Veterans Ave 294500 HCA 2019-0054 Individual Boundaries Property with Area Study of Map Midrange 2. Figure 295000 Base Map: Prov. DRA;BC; Base ArchaeologySites, FWA NadUTM 83 11N Zone (NTS: 82E04) 4 Seasons Heritage Consulting: Seasons 4 2019-06-20 Page 8of36 Imagery:Bing Satellite 295500

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5453000 5453500 5454000 5454500 5455000 The AIA proceeded on April 1, 2019, beginning with a thorough pedestrian survey of the study area, where the surface was not impeded by asphalt, dense vegetation or obstructions such as fencing and residential refuse. Observations from the surface survey and subsurface testing program confirmed significant historic land altering disturbances associated with the KVR railway and old Keremeos Hotel; the hotel footprint parcel was determined to not be viable for subsurface testing. A systematic shovel test program was conducted on the two eastern, grass-covered lots. Management recommendation based on the results of this investigation will help guide final development plans, and are detailed later in this report.

The study area is within the Provincial Consultative Areas Database for the following First Nations and associated organizations, in alphabetical order for the asserted traditional territory or areas of interest for the: Eshknam, Lower Similkameen Indian Band, Nooaitch, Okanagan Indian Band, Okanagan Nation Alliance, Penticton Indian Band, and the Upper Nicola Band. This project was undertaken collaboratively with and administered by LSIB. Objectives and Scope of Work

The objectives and scope of this archaeological and impact assessment are to: • Identify and evaluate archaeological resources within the study area; • Identify and evaluate all impacts on archaeological resources that might result from the proposed developments or future potential developments; • Recommend viable alternatives for managing adverse impacts to archaeological resources identified in the study area subject to subdivision and potential development. The assessment was undertaken by a crew of 4, including Meghan Fisher, RPCA, permit holder and field director; Robb Marty, assistant supervising archaeologist; Tiinesha Begaye, archaeologist and RISC certified LSIB field technician; and Shannon Terbasket, LSIB RISC certified field technician. The fieldwork was conducted on April 1, 2019.

This report is prepared in accordance with the Provincial Archaeology Branch Archaeological Impact Assessment Guidelines detailed online (Province of British Columbia 2017).

Page 9 of 36 Proposed Project

The proposed development will be potentially three stories, and will be comprised of 41 residential units ranging in size from studio suites to three-bedroom apartments, with storage facilities. It also includes on-site parking, amenity space, commercial space, gardens and ancillary services.

Figure 3. Proposed Development Plan Map, provided by proponent.

The overall size of the development area is approximately 0.5 acres. The size of the testable area is 40 m east to west by 40 m north to south.

The proposed residential subdivisions and ancillary developments will involve land-altering activities that will or may include: • Overfilling, leveling, cut and fill, and/or tree removal and vegetation clearing from the proposed impact zones • Construction and/or upgrading of access roads, driveways, parking lots • Trenching and installation of city sewerage lines; city water lines; and gas and electrical services • Construction or upgrading of pedestrian walkways that may include wheelchair access ramping • Preparation of building sites • Fencing • Impacts from machinery • Laydown/staging areas for equipment, materials etc. • Landscaping

The development is in the concept phase and will not be finalized until completion of this AIA, and official management recommendation from the Archaeology Branch. Draft construction plans included in this report were submitted by the Lower Similkameen Community Service Society (the Proponent), a non-profit society, as an example only.

Page 10 of 36 Project Area

Statement on Archaeology, and Indigenous Use and Occupancy

Within the archaeological research and resource management process, the value and importance of obtaining traditional knowledge of land use and oral historical information cannot be over emphasised. Archaeological sites represent only some aspects of cultural activity on the landscape, specifically those actions which leave behind the physical remains of an event of human activity such as food processing (Rabnett 2005). Traditional land use sites and cultural landscapes are places of cultural importance where people generally performed all manners of activity (Budhwa 2005, Klassen et al 2009). All archaeological sites are traditional use sites, but a traditional use site is not necessarily an archaeological site. For indigenous people, all sites are interconnected and part of the larger cultural landscape regardless of site type or age.

Description of Study Area

The study area is located in the Village of Keremeos in the Similkameen Valley, on a portion of the former Similkameen River floodplain. The watershed is located between the Coast Range Mountains and the Okanagan Valley. The Similkameen River originates in the Hozameen Range of the Cascade Mountains in E. C. Manning Provincial Park, and flows southeast through Keremeos to the Columbia River. Major tributaries include the Tulameen and Ashnola Rivers. Over time, the river’s natural flow and meander erosion action have been the main influence on its morphology (Summit Environmental Consultants Inc. 2011:3-3). However, settlement by non-indigenous peoples in Keremeos and the subsequent development (e.g. agricultural and industrial) and diking for flood control in the 1950s have impacted the river’s flow, and floodplain habitat (Rae 2005).

Copp (2006a) details in his discussion of the area for DhQw-35 (Figure 1) that the area would have been characterized as a low floodplain with Ponderosa Pine-Bunchgrass riverine growth associated with some marshlands and that marshlands were drained as development of the area expanded. Historical images in Copp (2006a: 8), illustrate that the Similkameen River was flowing south of the study areas by 1956. In contrast to the Okanagan River, dykes at Keremeos were intentionally set back from the main river channel to allow the river to continue to meander from side to side (Rae 2005: 90).

The terrain of the study area gently slopes from the adjacent lane on the north side of the site to the south side. Very slight raised areas and low channels were observed near the east lot boundary, which are possibly remnants of the historic downcutting and abrading patterns associated with a floodplain. Results of geotechnical testing (WSP Canada 2017a, 2017b) conducted before the AIA indicated that sediments are a mix of topsoil, fill, and at greater depths, fine grain deposits of silt, sand, and gravels. Primarily disturbed, homogenous sediments were observed in the field, and will be discussed in the results section of this report.

Page 11 of 36 Biogeoclimatic Zone

The study area is located within the Bunchgrass very dry hot Okanagan (BGxh1) Biogeoclimatic Zone. Within the Bunchgrass zone the temperature tends to increase as elevation decreases. Minor variations in vegetation occur based on aspect, topography, and drainage. Trees include Ponderosa pine and Interior Douglas fir, but the area tends to be dominated by grasslands (e.g. blue-bunch wheatgrass, big sagebrush) due to warm hot dry summers, and only moderately cold winters. Wetlands are also common contain abundant shrubbery. A riparian habitat may typically include waterbirch, cattail, alkalai saltgrass. On flood plains, black cottonwood is found in limited to moderate quantity.

On floodplains and in other riparian areas, typical fauna include mule deer, white-tailed deer, long-tailed weasel, western long-eared myotis, western jumping mouse, osprey, long-eared owl, screech owl, American bittern, Virginia rail, sora, Canada goose, tundra swan, eared grebe, wood duck, redwinged blackbird, black headed grosbeak, boblink, northern oriole, marsh wren, common yellowthroat, grey catbird and veery (Nicholas et al. ND). The temperature of the zone allows waterways to remain hospitable as places for animals to access water throughout much of the year (Ministry of Forests 1998).

Paleo-environmental Setting

The paleo-environmental history of British Columbia has been summarized by Hebda (1982, 1995) and Alley (1976) providing an account of the Okanagan. The Cordilleran ice sheet covered all of southern British Columbia with a thick mantle of ice until approximately 12,000 BP. The Similkameen Valley was formed in glacial and pro-glacial sediments (Hebda 1995; 1971; Pellatt 1996 in Copp 2006b). With deglaciation well underway by ca. 10,000 BP, the modern valley topography emerged; consisting of bedrock features shaped by glaciers, melt water channels and deposits, and glacial till (Holland 1976 in Summit Environmental Consultants Inc. 2011: 3-2). Post-glacial alluvial and colluvial deposits blanket the sides of the Similkameen Valley where down wasted colluvial debris fans, chutes and slides orient toward the valley floor (Green and Lord 1979, Ryder 1971 in Copp 2006:18).

The bedrock that underlies the Similkameen watershed originates from several geologic ages (Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources 2005) and is comprised of: • Older metamorphic rocks of argillite, chert, and greenstone; • Sedimentary rocks of sandstone, conglomerate, and siltstone; • Igneous rocks of granodiorite, quartz diorite, quartz monzonite, syenite, and porphyries intrude earlier bedrock; and • Younger igneous extrusive basaltic rocks of andesite, dacite, basalt, and rhyolite

“These bedrock types are generally resistant to water erosion, form upland and mountain ranges, and where strongly fractured, may contain bedrock aquifers. The major valleys are generally located along the major fault traces” (Summit Environmental Consultants Inc. 2011: 3-1).

Page 12 of 36

Culture History

Indigenous culture history of the Okanagan or syilx people is embedded in the Cəpcaptıkʷl̓ (an oral record of the natural laws meant for survival) since the beginning of people on the land (Armstrong, et al 1993). The Cəpcaptıkʷl̓ speaks to the four stages of the people since the beginning of people on the land. This information was paraphrased from an Okanagan source (Armstrong, et al 1993). The first stage was st’əlsqilxʷ̓ (torn from the earth people) who were the original inhabitants without the instincts to survive. The second stage was xatmaʔsqilxʷ̓ (in front of us people) who were the first thinking people who learned the natural laws to survive. The third stage sqilxʷ (dreaming ones, bound together, of the land) were the original people who learned to live together on the land in peace. The fourth and current stage is ʔawtmaʔsqilxʷ̓ (today’s people) are the people who live in the world today (ibid).

The western scientific understanding for the initial peopling of the Southern Interior of BC is not unlike that of the syilx perspective above; most view the archaeological record in terms of early, middle and late periods followed by post contact or ethnographic periods as discussed in the following section. With further research, a truly indigenous syilx cultural sequence for the study area could potentially embody the discussed indigenous stages above, able to reflect both science and cultural perspectives. A deeper understanding of the Cəpcaptıkʷl,̓ especially where they may be able to be traced to known, datable geological events and landscapes within the Okanagan would likely result in scientific evidence to demonstrate the antiquity of both the oral traditions and the continuous occupation of the landscape through time.

General syntheses of archaeological cultural sequences in the Interior Plateau region of central British Columbia can be found in: Chatters and Pokotylo (1998), Copp (1974), Grabert (1974), Richards and Rousseau (1987), Rousseau (2004).

Initial occupation of the interior of BC probably commenced between about 11,000-10,000 BP (Rousseau 2004) by ancient First Nations’ people moving into the region from the Columbia Plateau and Great Basin to the south. These migrations appear to have involved peoples belonging to a number of early cultural traditions. From these early migrations, various regional and sub-regional cultural chronologies have developed over time.

The greatest amount of academic research has been undertaken on the Fraser and Thompson Plateaus, where large house-pit sites have been excavated over decades. The greatest amount of regionally related archaeological research has been undertaken along the Columbia River in response to massive damming projects.

For the purposes of this report, Grabert’s (1967, 1968, 1970 and 1974) cultural sequence will be used, with references to the indigenous culture history used where possible. Although somewhat dated, Grabert’s research was undertaken in the Okanagan Valley, on both sides of the International Boundary, culminating in the development of a locally specific cultural sequence. Grabert’s sequence begins with the early period Early Okanagan Phase (9,000-6,000 BP), followed by the middle period Indian Dan Phase (6,000-3,000 BP), and ends with the late period Chiliwist (3,000-900 BP) and Cassimer Bar (900 BP-contact) Phases. Excavations near Vaseaux Lake led Copp (1979) to refine the lengthy Chiliwist phase into three sub phases (I: 3,000-2,400 BP; II: 2,400-950 BP; III: 950 BP-contact).

Page 13 of 36 Early Period

During the Early Period, the initial cool and wet postglacial conditions were quickly replaced by hot and dry conditions (the Hypsithermal).

As the glaciers were retreating, the large glacial lakes located on the valley bottoms would have been inhospitable, and local indigenous populations would have used the mid and high elevation grasslands for establishing settlements. Archaeological sites from this period are most commonly associated with deeply buried contexts, often with thick deposits of Aeolian sediments. These sites are poorly understood because few of them have been identified or excavated and even fewer have viable preserved material for radiocarbon dating.

Around 9,000-8,000 BP, the glacial lakes drained and the once inundated lands became increasingly more hospitable. Valley bottoms were becoming more attractive as sources of potable water. The once favourable areas upland from rivers and lakes became increasingly arid and potentially more sparsely populated by many game species due to their own reliance on water sources and vegetation. Recorded archaeological sites older than 7,000 BP are rare in the southern interior of BC. That being said, a small number of distinctive early type projectile points have been discovered in various parts of the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys (Copp 2006, Copp and Gould 2000, Grabert 1968, Arcas 1999) and a single 7,400 BP radio carbon date has been attributed to materials collected from a site located in the Similkameen at Sterling Creek (Copp 1996).

The early period in the south Okanagan Valley is the Okanagan Phase (9,000-6,000 BP) (Grabert 1974), which is believed to have evolved as local cognates of the Old Cordilleran Tradition (Stryd and Rousseau 1996). The Okanagan Phase is believed to have persisted through the early period and into the early parts of the middle period.

During this period, subsistence patterns were characterized by a reliance on hunting and foraging, with increasingly efficient exploitation of small animals and plants. The inhabitants of this region may also have been able to exploit relict Pleistocene mega-fauna, including now-extinct forms of bison. Bison bones reportedly from the Pleistocene period were recovered at Mission Creek in 1919 (OHS 1926). The specimens are presently in the Royal BC Museum collection (W. Hawkes personal communication, September 8, 2017). However, no evidence to date has been found in the archaeological record of the southern Okanagan. Additional information on this topic is available through knowledge keepers and traditional knowledge regarding bison but is beyond the scope of this project.

Early archaeological sites are characterized by artifacts including: small assemblages of leaf-shaped and stemmed projectile points, microblades and cores, large domed and ridged scrapers, and debitage (Arcas, 1999, Copp 1979, 1997). Basalt and dacite lithic materials also dominate early assemblages. Faunal remains from this period are sparse, due mostly to deterioration of organic materials over time. Identified sites from this period are open with no evidence of habitation or food storage. Very few burials are known from this time period, as preservation of skeletal remains is very unlikely in all but exceptional circumstances.

Additionally, work undertaken by Sanger (1964), at the Nesikep and Lochnore Creek locality helped to define the Nesikep and Lochnore phases of lithic typology, with assemblage characterised by large bifaces, diagnostic projectile points that include edge grinding preparation, and microblades. Rousseau

Page 14 of 36

emphasized the basal thinning and edge grinding as a characteristic that is not seen in later phases (Pers. Comm. Rousseau 2016 and 2015).

Middle Period

The middle period (6,000-3,000 BP) sees an end of the Hypsithermal at approximately 4,000 BP, followed by the onset of cooler, moister conditions.

Based on evidence from archaeological sites dating to this period, subsistence was still based primarily on hunting game animals and gathering plant foods, with salmonid fish populations beginning to appear in some watersheds. Freshwater mussels become more important in sites of this age than at later times (Prentiss and Kuijt 2004). Few permanent homes are known from this period and there is no evidence for resource storage. Very few burials from this time period have been examined in this part of the Okanagan.

The Middle Period occupation of the south Okanagan valley is not as well understood as that for the Thompson-Shuswap region, because fewer sites belonging to this period have been excavated in this region. As more archaeological work is undertaken, this period will become better understood. Its origins lie in the Okanagan Phase (9000 – 6000 BP), which appears to have similarities to archaeological deposits from the Columbia Plateau of Washington State. Where sites of this age have been identified, they are usually located on higher terraces of existing rivers, but sites have also been found in mid- elevation settings (Grabert 1970).

The early period Okanagan Phase is replaced by the Indian Dan Phase (6000 – 3000 BP) during the middle period. The Indian Dan Phase is characterized by rock shelter and open sites with an increase in the variety of projectile points, including large barbed, shouldered, basally notched and stemmed varieties along with a continuation of large domed and ridged scrapers, microblades, and cores (Copp 1979). Faunal remains are again sparse, due to poor preservation. However, an evolving fishing industry is inferred based on a large number of preserved mussel shells and the odd net sinker.

Late Period

The late period (3,000-200 BP) in the Okanagan is marked by the end of the Indian Dan Phase and establishment of the succeeding Chilliwist (3000 – 900 BP) and Cassimar Bar (1200 – 200 BP) Phases (Grabert 1970 and Copp 1979). The Chilliwist Phase, like the Plateau Pit House Tradition on the Fraser River, marks the beginning of a more sedentary way of life, including the development of social ranking and a focus on intense resource exploitation and storage, supplemented as required by other resources. Use of the semi-subterranean pit house as a winter residence also appears (Gould 2012, Grabert 1968, 1974, Rousseau 2004a), although Okanagan sources suggest that the pit house form of dwelling was a late addition (Mourning Dove 1990).

Permanent village settlements (some of large size) are evidenced by semi-subterranean pit houses in general use as winter residences, with mat lodges beginning to replace pit houses towards the end of the late period and plausibly as a seasonal variant, although the former is mentioned as the ethnographic pattern. There is evidence for long-range trade as well as localized evidence for social ranking and various burial practices, including within pit house floors, on prominent landscape features, in talus slopes, and occasional cairns or cists, often accompanied by exotic grave goods such as Dentalia beads or copper.

Page 15 of 36 Grabert’s (1968) excavation of archaeological site DiQw-2 in the Marron valley nearby to Penticton helped define the Chilliwist Phase. The site consists of an open area with a single house pit depression located on a high terrace feature, above the southeast bend in Marron Lake. Microblades and cores were dominant in the lithic assemblage.

Grabert (1968) reports that the Chilliwist Phase is broadly characterized by the earliest known habitation sites. These consist of deep, steeply walled pit houses and artifact assemblages comprised of large leaf- shaped projectile points with predominant corner notching, microblades, and cores. Bone artifacts become more common (likely due to better preservation), and in the faunal assemblage, salmon bones become abundant (Grabert 1970, Copp 1979).

Copp’s (1979) excavation of the McCall site DhQv-48 in Okanagan Falls, located in fairly close proximity to the study area, further refined the Chilliwist phase by creating three sub-phases based on artifact assemblages and radiocarbon dates. Trends over the Chilliwist sub-phases include a continued reduction in projectile point size, increased frequency of the use of chert as a raw material, archaeological evidence of the practice of using ochre to decorate personal items, and a reduction in depth of pit house depressions (Copp 1979).

The last phase of the later period is the Cassirer Bar Phase (900-200 BP), characterized by large winter villages, much shallower pit house depressions, an introduction of rectangular pit house forms, increased occurrences of mat lodges, composite harpoons, small corner notched projectile points, and trade items. The Cassimer Bar phase is the latest archaeological phase prior to contact with Europeans. The archaeological record in the Cassimer Bar Phase represents the ethnographic cultures at (or just prior to) the time of contact with Europeans.

Ethnographic

The study area is within the asserted area of responsibility of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, a member of the Okanagan Nation Alliance. A list of 13 First Nations or associated organizations with asserted interests in this area are provided in the introduction of this report.

The Okanagan people are part of the Interior Salish language group, inhabiting a large area from Nicola Lake in the west to Slocan Lake in the east, and from the mouth of the Okanogan River at its confluence with the Columbia to the south and Upper Arrow Lakes to the north.

It is important to note that a fraction of Okanagan indigenous culture and life ways are recorded in the available anthropological and ethno-historic literature, and most is from an etic (European) perspective. Indigenous literature is rare as traditional culture and life ways are embedded in the Cəpcaptıkʷl̓ and language, both of which are transmitted orally. Many cultural traditions still exist among contemporary indigenous persons despite losses due to historic colonial policies of assimilation and cultural genocide. Indigenous societies underwent significant changes as a result of their contact with Europeans and therefore cultural aspects reported in the literature may not (and often do not) accurately reflect the culture prior to contact or even as it exists today. A short summary provided below is largely gleaned from ethno-historic literature and, where possible, from an indigenous source.

The Okanagan (syilx) people speak the Northern Okanagan dialect of Okanagan, which describes the language its own speakers refer to as nsy’lxcχn, meaning “people’s speech” (Kennedy and Bouchard 1998). Okanagan is one of several languages comprising the Interior Salish Division of the Salishan

Page 16 of 36 language family (nsy’lxcχn to its speakers). The syilx people are part of the larger Interior Plateau peoples who inhabited British Columbia prior to European contact, and whose culture was characterized by a semi-sedentary, predominantly egalitarian lifestyle dependent upon fishing, plant gathering, and hunting for subsistence. Religious beliefs included observance of the guardian spirit quest, shamanism, and spiritualism (Kennedy and Bouchard 1998).

Although not clearly defined in terms of contemporary North American colonial practices, the Okanagan people had territorial boundaries and village chiefs had a say about resources on the land in their village areas (Armstrong et al 1993). Mourning Dove (1990) describes the Okanagan people at the time of contact as comprised of four tribes as follows: 1) Colville occupying from the mouth of the Spokane River to the Arrow Lakes, including the important fishery at Kettle Falls; 2) Sanpoil occupying the Sanpoil and Nespelem Rivers south to the big bend in the Columbia; 3) Lakes occupying the Arrow, Kootenay and Slocan Lakes; and 4) Okanagan occupying the Okanagan River from the mouth on the Columbia in Brewster Washington to the Shuswap Lakes in the north and west to the summit of the Cascade Range. The Okanagan were further subdivided into upper (Lakes) and lower (river).

Armstrong et al (1993) further divides the Lakes into the Arrow and Slocan as well as including the Similkameen.

Generally speaking, the Okanagan people were comprised of autonomous neighbouring bands linked to each other by language, culture, kinship ties and frequent association. The Okanagan had a complex social organisation with roles and responsibilities for everyone including the individual, household head, extended family head, village chief, trade and commerce chiefs, tribal chiefs and a high chief (Armstrong, et al 1993). The Okanagan were an egalitarian society where everyone shared in the gathering of food and everyday work as well as the benefits (Armstrong et al. 1993, Mourning Dove 1990). Among the people there were story tellers, artists, crafters, thinkers, singers, musicians, scientists, doctors, travelers and sports persons (Armstrong et al 1993).

At the village level was a group of closely related families who wintered together in large villages (Mourning Dove 1990, Teit 1928, Hudson 1990). Each band or tribe took its identity from the site of its winter village (Mourning Dove 1990). Winter villages were chosen for a number of variables including, but not limited to, a source of potable water, proximity to trees for construction material and firewood, close proximity to root digging and berry picking grounds, location in sandy sediments that could easily be dug and, in many cases, in close proximity to a fishing station. Preferred winter habitation or camp sites typically had southern exposure and shelter from the elements as well as good access to ice fishing and winter hunting grounds.

One of two types of traditional winter dwelling in pre-Contact times (prior to contact with European societies) is the distinctive semi-subterranean pit-house, which after abandonment and natural infilling leaves sub-rectangular to circular depressions familiar to many residents of the Okanagan Valley. Small village clusters of pit-houses were often located near main waterways or fishing stations, and in sheltered settings along tributary streams well back from lakes. The other winter dwelling is the pole- and-tule mat structure called a mat lodge. Ethnographically, mat lodges have been described as being able to hold up to 8 families and be 10 to 20 m in length constructed using three to eight pairs of poles lashed at the top with twisted willows approximately 2.5 m apart. Poles would be leaned on each end, and the whole structure would be covered with tule mats and fir boughs. Bark was used to stop the

Page 17 of 36 draft at the bottom and a vent would be left open along the ridgeline (Mourning Dove 1990).

Mat lodges were usually found on lakeshores, on the banks of rivers, or associated with seasonal base camps at mid-elevation ranges to mountaintops for summer exploitation of mountain resources. In the later pre-Contact period, mat lodges began to replace pit-houses as the favoured winter dwelling in this area. Mourning Dove (1990) lived in a mat lodge noting that pit-houses were not that common. Other constructed features used in the day-to-day life of Okanagan people included hearths, storage pits, food-steaming ovens, sweat houses and refuse piles.

During the warmer weather (usually between April and September), families travelled throughout their territories hunting and gathering a broad variety of roots and berries, regrouping periodically to make the most efficient use of seasonally available resources. Much of the food was dried and stored for use during the winter months. The area is well known by the Okanagan people as an area for gathering numerous resources. In contrast to winter settlements, some summer camp sites can be seen to reflect the opposite and be found in locations exposed to wind and shade for reducing bugs and summer heat.

Ethnographically, the annual cycle of subsistence activities and settlement locations was dictated primarily by the seasonal availability and abundance of food resources. Low-elevation habitats (e.g., river valleys and lake margins) would have been utilized for fishing, and as locations both for winter villages, and in higher-elevation environments, base camps were used for hunting and gathering of plant foods.

Flora and faunal resources were extremely important and although different resources were used for different reasons, all were held in the highest regard. The emergence of plant resources after the winter marked a change in the seasons, as did the emergence of animals from hibernation or their return from migration.

Fishing was an extremely important activity in rivers, streams, marshes and lakes. Species utilized include sockeye salmon or kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka), Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) which is a very important resource and which is rare (only remaining population of Columbia River Chinook in Canada are threatened), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) which are now extirpated, steelhead or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), char (Salvelinus alpinus), suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus), and northern pike minnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis). Major salmon fisheries existed in numerous locations with historic major fisheries at both the “narrows” of Osoyoos Lake and also on the river at Okanagan Falls, a popular fishery still in use today. Salmon were caught using dip nets and fish weirs, and traps were also used in some sections of the Okanagan River. It is likely that the same methods of fishing used in the Okanagan River around Oroville (another important salmon fishery) were also utilized in locations around the Okanagan Valley. As well as the weirs and dip nets, fishing methods included the use of leisters, harpoons, gaff hooks, and gill nets (Kennedy and Bouchard 1998). Summer and fall were important for fisheries, providing an abundance of food that could be stored over the winter. Salmon and other fisheries are identified in numerous locations throughout the Okanagan. The nearest major salmon fishery is located at Okanagan Falls at the south end of Skaha Lake (Armstrong et al 1993) and which is associated with three sacred landforms representing Beaver, Fisher and Muskrat which are described in the Cəpcaptıkʷl̓ (R. Armstrong Pers. Comm. 2012 and 2016). Okanagan Falls is less than 4 km northwest of archaeological site DhQv-14.

It is important to note that the Similkameen River does not have salmon, and that additional information beyond geological constraints related to the Similkameen Falls have not been made readily

Page 18 of 36 available or as such vetted for contribution to this report at this time by the LSIB.

Most hunting was undertaken at mid and high elevations in the late spring and fall. Currently drier, low elevations settings do not support significant numbers of ungulates due to sparse fodder. That being said higher populations of ungulates are found in localities associated with rivers and lakes and low elevation hunting sites are more common in these environments such as the study area.

The major types of animals as a food source were acquired through hunting and trapping of large and small game and birds. What animal resources were gathered was dependent upon time of year and geographic location. Christine Quintasket (Mourning Dove 1990) makes reference to snaring squirrels and ground hogs with hemp string. The entirety of an animal was used, with hides being important sources of clothing, sinew as an import source of fibre for binding, sewing etc., and bone an important material for tool manufacture, as well as the marrow having nutritional value.

The Okanagan hunted several species of animals as part of their seasonal round. Large game predominantly included wapiti/elk (Cervus canadensis), deer (Odocoileus virginianus and hemionus), but black bears (Ursus americanus), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) and mountain goats (Oreamnus americanus) were hunted more opportunistically or on special occasions when and where available. Smaller mammals such as rabbits (Lepus americanus), beaver (Castor canadensis), ground squirrel (Urocitellus richardsonii), yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flavinentris), and porcupine (Hystricomorph hystricidae) were hunted as opportunity afforded, occasionally as food supplements Birds that were hunted included species such as blue grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) and waterfowl including swans (Cygnus buccinator), mallard ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus), Canada geese (Branta canadensis), loons (Gavia) and grebes (Podicipedidae).

Amphibious painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) have a sporadic distribution in the Okanagan Valley and are currently a red listed species but were utilized when found and may have occurred in greater numbers during pre-contact times. Other amphibians that were utilized include spade foot toad (Spea intermontana) and frogs (Anura), tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) and skinks (Eumeces skiltonianus).

Indigenous people used a number of wild plants for various purposes, including as foods, medicines, dyes, construction materials, and in spiritual activities. Likewise, many animals were utilized for numerous purposes including food, tools, clothing, construction material, and in spiritual activities. Through careful observation, experimentation, and as passed down through the Cəpcaptıkʷl̓ over many thousands of years, indigenous people learned the best seasons for acquiring various resources, the most efficient methods of harvesting them, the various means of utilizing them and the methods of processing and storing them for year-round use.

Generally speaking, the major types of plant foods used includes fruits (berries, nuts and seeds), green vegetables (sprouts and leaves), tree lichen, mushrooms, underground plant parts (roots, bulbs, rhizomes, corms and tubers) and cambium, inner bark, sweet sap and sugar from certain trees. Many berries, some mushrooms and certain greens and underground plant parts are still harvested today. Some of these resources (see above examples) have become increasingly important due to the nutritional and health advantages that traditional foods have, and which were removed from the diet as a result of people no longer being able/allowed to participate in traditional food collection practices.

Page 19 of 36 An understanding of changes in the abundance and distribution of plant and animal species over time needs to be addressed. As climate changed over the duration of the pre-contact Holocene period, plant and animal communities, and their relative abundance also changed. The most significant changes, however, have come with the modern activities of settlement, agriculture, resource extraction and urban development of the land, which have greatly impacted both indigenous use of the landscape as well as habitat.

The most common plants (additional rare and endangered plants have been omitted at the request of community members) known to have occurred in the study area historically (cf. Ministry of Environment Lands and Parks 2013a, 2013b) are summarized below, from Ethnobotany of the Okanagan-Colville People (Turner 2007, Turner et al. 1980), Mourning Dove (1990) and Richard Armstrong (pers. Comm. 2012 and 2014):

• Saskatoon Berries (Amelanchier alnifolia): a deciduous shrub with edible berry-like fruit that canbe eaten dried or fresh, also used as an added flavor and preservative ingredient in thepreparation of dried meat; • Arrow-leaved Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata): a tap-rooted perennial herb, all of the plantwas eaten and the seeds were valuable as a food and also processed for oil, also usedmedicinally, the presence of this plant serves as an indicator of good habitat for sage- grouse; • Mariposa Lily (Calochortus macrocarpus): bulbs were harvested and eaten as a vegetable, alsoused to counter the effects of poison ivy; • Bitter Root (Lewisia rediviva): perennial herb with a fleshy taproot that can be eaten, or processed into powder, the root was used as a food staple as well as medicinally; • Wild Carrot (Daucus carota): herbaceous biennial with a root that is eaten while young, also used as a method of contraception • Indian Celery (Heracleum maximum): young stalks and leaves can be eaten as a vegetable, the dried stems were sometimes used as drinking straws or flutes, processed the plant was used medicinally as a poultice for bruises or sores, the roots were used to produce a yellow die, and an infusion of the flowers can be rubbed on the body as an insect repellant; • Desert Parsley (Lomatium foeniculaceum): the roots and leaves were eaten as vegetables, roots also dried and ground into a powder to mix with other food stuffs; • Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria camschatcensis): a perennial herb, bulbs can be eaten raw and cooked, or processed into flour; • Rabbit brush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus): used as wood for smoking hides, and medicinally; • Antelope brush or greasewood (Purshia tridentate): used as a fuel for fire, in basketry, and in pit cooking; the plant’s berries were used medicinally; • Puffballs (Lycoperdon calvatia gigantia): used with ochre when making paint, and as a talcum powder; • Cup Lichen (cladonia chlorophaea): used medicinally; • Common Horsetail (Equisetum arvense): used for polishing as well as medicinally; • Prickly-pear Cactus (Opuntia fragilisI): used for fish hooks, for piercing, for food, also used to keep mice out of caches; • Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium): berries were dried and stored for winter, the inner bark of roots and stems was used as a bright yellow dye for items such as baskets, goat wool, and quills, also medicinal and ceremonial uses; • Bulrush or Cat-tail (Typha latifolia): woven and used as mats for houses, coverings, floors, etc.,

Page 20 of 36

cotton heads used to line moccasins, young sprouts were also eaten; • Bunchgrass (Agropynon spicatum): used dried to start fires, used for stuffing moccasins, as floor covering in winter houses, in cooking pits as well as having medicinal applications; • Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata): bark stripped and braided to make fiber for ropes and for weaving, dried leaves used both medicinally and spiritually; • Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa): cambium eaten, seeds eaten like nuts, sap used as an adhesive, wood used in construction, also used medicinally; • Western red cedar can also be found in some of the peripheral drainages including Horne Creek; the bark and roots were used extensively as a fiber for weaving, also used medicinally

The archaeological remains of plant gathering sites are normally very difficult to identify because plant remains and some of the tools used to harvest them are highly perishable. Plant processing activities with associated cooking features and storage pits would usually occur at the winter village or base-camp sites.

Although not readily visible in the archaeological record, information about plant remains in archaeological sites can often yield significant insight regarding an otherwise little understood aspect of ancient life ways. Specialized studies such as floatation and microscopic analysis of features and associated sediments are beyond the scope of this project but would provide additional details regarding the diet and activities of the pre-contact indigenous peoples in the study area.

“Fiber” products, such as basketry, tule-rush mats, and birch bark containers were also characteristic and described in the ethnographic record. Basketry manufacture was a significant skill due in part to the absence of pottery in pre-contact indigenous culture. Specialized watertight cooking baskets were crafted; several rounds of small stones were heated in the fire and dropped into a basket of water to clean them. Then, using a forked stick and tongs, the rocks were placed into the cooking basket while constantly stirring to boil liquid and cook food (Mourning Dove 1990, Haeberlin, et al 1928).

Previous Archaeology and Archaeological Potential within 3 kms of the Study Area

DhQw-8: Is a surface lithic scatter located 670 m E of the study area. Artifacts (no description) were collected by R.N. Atkinson in 1937. A review of the site inventory form on RAAD indicated that the original site form (1974) listed this site as a "Habitation locus. [That] [c]omprises an area of approximately 2 acres, overlooking the Similkameen River at an elevation of 75-100' which breaks away to river in steep bank. Situated about 1/2 mile below Keremeos on east side of river (Atkinson Notes p. 28)” (BCAB Site Form Record DhQw-8).

DhQw-33: Is the Keremeos Hudson’s Bay Company Post site located approximately 1.57 km northeast of the study area. A review of the RAAD site inventory form indicated that there was “no visible signs of HBC post. Location not confirmed (see journal notes ASAB Interior Historic Survey 1977 June 18)” (BCAB Site Form Record DhQw-33).

DhQw-35: Is a burial site located 720 m SW of the study area. Ancestral remains of a young woman were recovered from this site in 2006 during excavations for a housing subdivision. It is thought to be a secondary burial. Radiometric testing determined that she would have lived sometime during the period 640 ± 40 BP. She was reburied on the Ashnola Indian Reserve (Copp 2006a: 3; 2006b).

Page 21 of 36 DhQw-36: Is the Lower Similkameen Indian Band Cemetery 1877. It is located 1.74 km north of the study area. A review of the RAAD site inventory form indicated that it is a post-contact cemetery located on a terrace landform with a single headstone in remembrance of John Chuchuaskin. Community members also recall that three other people were buried at this site. Precontact lithic materials also found at this site cross-dated to 200-8000 years BP, which is in keeping with others found in the Similkameen Valley. Projectile points were previously found by collectors, and surface debitage (cryptocrystalline silicates and dacite flakes) were observed but left in situ by Copp (BCAB Site Form Record DhQw-36).

DhQw-37: Was designated a site to represent the precontact component of the registered historic site (DhQw-30) the Keremeos Grist Mill, which is 1.36 km northeast of the study area. The precontact component is a lithic scatter site recorded in 1983 by Points West Heritage Consulting. The collection included flakes and finished tool fragments reposited at the Royal British Columbia Museum (Heinz Pyszczyk 1983; BCAB Site Form Record DhQw-37).

DhQw-41: is a surface lithic site located 220 m NE of the study area and is characterized by an isolated find of a fine-grained-volcanic utilized flake (BCAB Site Form Record DhQw-41).

DhRa-10: Is a historic railway site located 75 m S of the study area. The site was recorded by Bob Powell of the BC Provincial Museum in 1975 (BCAB Site Form Record DhRa-10).

A newspaper article in the Princeton Star (April 1, 1921) describes the discovery of an indigenous warrior buried on a bench landform “at the point where the old lane from the Centre Hotel to the upper end of Keremeos townsite leaves the bench and is graded down to the valley bottom.” The warrior, who was close to 7 ft. tall, was found with a stone war club, stone arrows and spearheads during road construction. The war club was reported to be approximately 20 inches long with a picture of a man incised on one side. The burial was attributed to the historic period, yet the stone objects found with him suggest the burial could have been older. His remains were displayed in Keremeos for a while and were thought to have been given to Ashnola John for reburial.

The same Princeton Star article (1921) describes what are likely pictographs on the “high cliff” near the forks in the Keremeos-Penticton road. One “legend” associated with the pictographs is that they commemorate a nearby victory by the “Similkameen Indians” over “the Okanagans”.

Expected Archaeological Site Types

Based on recorded sites within 2 km or less of the study, the following site types may be encountered during construction: • Burials • Lithic scatter • Habitations • Historic sites

Page 22 of 36

Methodology

Background Research

A search of the Remote Access to Archaeological Data (RAAD) database, administered by the Archaeology Branch, was conducted before the in-field assessment to determine the number and distribution of known sites within the study areas and vicinity. Topographic maps and development plan maps were also analyzed. Readily available archaeological background literature was reviewed, including consultant reports on file with the Archaeology Branch.

Archaeological Potential Assessment

Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) determined high potential for archaeological and cultural impact through their Preliminary Technical Assessment (PTA) process. The study area was initially determined to have high archaeological potential based on access to the Provincial Site Registry, the RAAD mapping system and potential modelling available from the Archaeology Branch from Okanagan TSA (Arcas 1997 [approved 1996 standards and accessible through RAAD])(Figure 1).

Additional potential assessments are based on information provided by the LSIB and in-field observations. The following landscape characteristics are associated with areas of high archaeological potential.

• Level or gently sloping terrain • Close proximity to watercourses • Well-drained ground • Distinct landforms such as terraces

Sloping, uneven or poorly drained terrain reduces archaeological potential. However, archaeological sites within the vicinity of a study area can increase potential. Significant ground disturbance of the landscape such as previous development (i.e. residential complexes or industrial development) reduces the chances of finding intact archaeological deposits and lowers archaeological potential.

Field Methodology

Field methodology was conducted as outlined in HCA permit 2019-0054. Survey was comprehensive and included thorough visual surface inspection of the study area, supplemented by systematic subsurface testing where not impeded by vegetation, structure, surface and subsurface infrastructure.

A crew of four conducted the pedestrian survey and shovel testing of the study area. The crew included permit holder and field director, Meghan Fisher; Robb Marty, archaeologist; Tiinesha Begaye archaeologist; and Shannon Terbasket, RISC field technician from Lower Similkameen Indian Band.

Shovel testing of the study area was undertaken systematically in 5 m intervals within the study area except where impeded by vegetation, structure or infrastructure, or previous disturbance due to geotechnical testing. Shovel tests measured 35 x 35 cm wide at a minimum, and were dug to sterile

Page 23 of 36 deposits of sandy, riverine gravels and cobbles. All sediments were screened through 6 mm (1/4”) mesh. Detailed results of the shovel tests are provided in Appendix A.

Reporting

This final report was prepared by Robb Marty and Meghan Fisher, in accordance with the guidelines and standards of the Archaeology Branch and the BC Association of Professional Archaeologists (BCAPA). Copies of the final report will be submitted to the client, the Archaeology Branch and First Nations.

Site Significance Criteria

Significance evaluation follows the criteria set out by the Archaeology Branch where issues of scientific, public, economic, ethnic, and historic significance, and integrity will be addressed. Values for each site are reported as having a high, moderate-high, moderate, low-moderate, or low ranking. Significance was judgmentally determined by considering the values assigned to each of the significance categories available in the BC Archaeology Site Impacts and Site Inventory Guidelines (2017) and in consultation with the Lower Similkameen Indian Band. All other First Nations communities and organizations are welcome to contribute any additional information or perspective they may want to include with regard to their respective ethnic values pertaining to an archaeological site.

Due to no archaeological materials or features being encountered during the AIA, the scientific, public and economic significance of the study area is considered to be low. The ethnic significance is considered high due to the study area being located in a well-documented traditional use area. Although no historic infrastructure remains, the historic significance is considered to be moderate because of the study area’s proximity to a registered historical site (the former KVR train station), and a portion of the study was once the location of the Old Keremeos Hotel. Based on this evaluation, the overall site significance is considered to be low-moderate.

Impact Identification

Impact management schemes are dependent upon the significance evaluation for the recorded sites. Impact assessments are determined as per the Archaeological Impact Assessment Guidelines (2017). Levels of impact were assessed according to magnitude, severity, duration, range, frequency, diversity, cumulative effect, and rate of change. As no sites were identified no further archaeological recommendations are included within this report.

Page 24 of 36

Results

AIA Survey

On April 1, 2019, a crew of two archaeologists from 4 Seasons Heritage Consulting and two RISC- certified field technicians from the LSIB conducted an AIA of the subject properties. Survey coverage of the study areas was thorough and extensive with 100% of the study area being surveyed, except where impeded by vegetation, structures and infrastructure. The testable portion of the study area measured approximately 40 m E-W by 40 m N-S (Figure 4. View of testable portion of study area, looking east.).

A total of 38 shovel tests were excavated. The average depth of shovel test was 20.7 cm, resulting in an estimated volume of 0.96 m3 of sediments tested. The sediments consisted of a duff layer over grey- brown to brown silty sand with 10-40% riverine gravels and cobbles; light grey to grey clayey silty sand was observed under the previous layer in approximately one-quarter of the shovel tests. Historic debris in the form of glass, plastic, cement, ceramic, and saw-cut animal bones was, to varying degrees, present in all the shovel tests. All shovel tests were negative for archaeological materials or features. A detailed description of the shovel tests can be found in Appendix A.

Figure 4. Photo looking east at the testable area including a closed geotechnical hole..

Figure 5. Negative ST 35, illustrating homogenous sediments observed in study area.

Page 25 of 36 Pge 26 of 36 Evaluation of Research

For the purposes of this study and with regard to the parameters as set out in Heritage Conservation Act permit 2019-0054, together with the results of this study it can be determined that the research conducted was satisfactory according to the permit obligations and the obligations of the proponents to undertake this study. The level of confidence returned from the testing program of the study area can be considered high. The subsurface testing program was thorough with no archaeological materials or features being observed. All subsurface results for the study area are consistent with a landform that has been impacted by historic developments. Although this study was rigorous in its application as with any archaeological investigation involving a sampling strategy, unidentified cultural deposits may be present within the study areas. Management Recommendations

Based on the results of the AIA conducted by 4 Seasons Heritage Consulting on April 1, 2019, no further archaeological work is recommended. While no archaeological materials or features were observed, a S. 12 Site Alteration Permit may not be required by the Archaeology Brach. However, it is recommended that a Monitoring Program be implemented in collaboration with the LSIB Referrals Department, and that a RISC-certified field technician be present for initial ground-altering activities of the upper 20-40 cm of sediments. It is strongly recommended that a Chance Finds procedure be implemented in collaboration with the LSIB and a qualified professional archaeologist. Chance finds procedures are often flawed due to the lack of trained personnel present during ground altering activities. As such, the above recommendations do not preclude the LSIB’s Title and Rights in the area. There is always the possibility that small, undiscovered archaeological sites or isolated finds may be present in the study areas. Users of this report should be aware that even the most thorough investigations may not reveal all archaeological resources that exist within a given area. In consideration of this it is further recommended that: The proponents and/or their representatives inform contractors that archaeological sites in BC are protected from intentional or accidental disturbance by Section 13 of the Heritage Conservation Act and in the event that archaeological remains are encountered all ground disturbance in the immediate area must stop. It is the responsibility of the proponent to inform the Archaeology Branch and the Lower Similkameen Indian Band as soon as possible about the nature of the archaeological remains and disturbance, and develop management strategies in concert with a qualified archaeologist. A failure to comply with the Heritage Conservation Act may result in severe penalties.

It is important to note this assessment is intended to identify physical archaeological evidence of past human activity protected under the Heritage Conservation Act as it relates to the proposed development. It is not the intent of this report to address traditional land use or other heritage concerns of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band within the study areas. This study was conducted without prejudice to the Aboriginal Title and Rights of any First Nation.

Page 27 of 36 References Cited

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and Organisation of Prehistoric Communities on the Plateau of Northwestern North America, edited by W. Prentiss and I. Kuijt, University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

Ruhmann, Max H. 1926 The Bison in the Okanagan Valley. In the First Report of the Okanagan Historical and Natural History Society, September 10, 1926, edited by James C. Agnew, pp 6., Vernon, British Columbia. Stryd, A. and M. Rousseau 1996 The Early Prehistory of the Mid Fraser Thompson Region, in Early Human Occupation of British Columbia, R. L. Carlson and L. Dalla Bona, editors, UBC Press, Vancouver.

Summit Environmental Consultants 2011 Similkameen River Water Management Plan: Part 1 Scoping Study – September 2011. Electronic document, http://www.rdosmaps.bc.ca/min_bylaws/es/public_works/svwp/svpswater.pdf, accessed August 20, 2017.

Teit, James A. 1928 The Salishan Tribes of the Western Plateaus, in Forty-Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, edited by Franz Boas, pp. 23-396, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA.

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Appendix A: Shovel Test Log

Shovel Results DBS (cm) Stratigraphy Other Comments/Photos Test Lithics Faunal FCR Shovel Test Area 1: Total Shovel Tests 38; Total Estimated Volume 0.96 m3; 0 Positive, 38 Negative; 0% Positive Assessed April 1, 2019. • 0-3 cm duff • Negative 1 20 • 3-20 cm brown silty sand with 20-30% rounded and N N N • Historic debris – glass subrounded pebbles, increasing with depth • 0-7 cm duff • 7-20 cm brown silty sand with 20-30% rounded and • Negative 2 20 N N N subrounded pebbles, increasing with depth • Historic debris – glass, plastic, paper • 20+ cm compact cobbles • 0-5 cm duff • 7-46 cm brown silty sand with 20-30% rounded and • Negative 3 46 subrounded pebbles, increasing with depth; 5-10% N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic, rounded and subrounded cobbles, and tree roots near ceramic depth • 0-5 cm duff • 5-30 cm grey brown silty sand with 10-15% rounded and • Negative 4 30 N N N subrounded pebbles, and a few cobbles; large tree root • Historic debris – glass, plastic in south wall near depth • 0-5 cm duff • 5-24 cm grey brown sandy silt with 5-10% rounded and • Negative 5 36 subrounded pebbles N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 24-36 cm light grey brown clayey silt; compact light grey clay at depth • 0-6 cm duff • 6-29 cm brown silty sand with 20-30% rounded and • Negative 6 29 N N N subrounded pebbles, and tree roots increasing with • Historic debris – glass depth • 0-13 cm loose grey brown silty sand with 10-15% • Negative 7 25 rounded and subrounded pebbles; no duff N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 13-25 cm compact grey silty sand with 20-30% pebbles

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Shovel Results DBS (cm) Stratigraphy Other Comments/Photos Test Lithics Faunal FCR • 0-5 cm loose grey brown silty sand with 5-10% rounded and subrounded pebbles; no duff • Negative 8 24 N N N • 5-24 cm compact grey brown silty sand with 10-15% • Historic debris – plastic pebbles • 0-13 cm grey brown silty sand with 30-40% rounded and • Negative 9 13 subrounded pebbles; root; no duff N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 13+ cm compact brown clay • 0-3 cm duff • 3-17 cm brown silty sand with 30-40% rounded and • Negative 10 17 N N N subrounded pebbles, and tree roots increasing with • Historic debris – glass, plastic depth • 0-8 cm duff • 8-15 cm brown silty sand with 20-30% rounded and • Negative 11 15 N N N subrounded pebbles, and a few small cobbles • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 15+ cm compact brown clay • 0-3 cm duff • Negative • 3-8 cm grey brown sandy silt with 20-30% rounded and • Historic debris – cement slab 12 16 subrounded pebbles N N N fragment • 8-16 cm grey brown clayey silty sand; increasing pebbles

with depth • 0-3 cm duff • 3-18 cm compact grey brown silty sand with 20-30% • Negative 13 18 N N N rounded and subrounded pebbles • Historic debris – plastic • Yellow brown sediment staining, and roots at depth • 0-3 cm duff • 3-7 cm loose brown silty sand with 30-40% rounded and • Negative 14 14 subrounded pebbles, and a few cobbles N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 7-14 cm compact grey brown silty sand with 40-50% pebbles • 0-6 cm duff • Negative 15 35 • 6-35 cm grey brown silty sand with 10-15% rounded and N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic subrounded pebbles; compact cobbles at depth • Negative 16 14 • 0-7 cm duff N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic

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Shovel Results DBS (cm) Stratigraphy Other Comments/Photos Test Lithics Faunal FCR • 7-14 cm light grey brown silty sand with 10-20% rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact cobbles at depth • 0-6 cm duff • Negative 17 21 • 6-21 cm grey brown silty sand with 20-30% rounded and N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic subrounded pebbles; compact cobbles at depth • 0-7 cm duff • Negative 18 18 • 7-18 cm grey brown silty sand with 10% rounded and N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic subrounded pebbles; compact cobbles at depth • 0-6 cm duff • 6-20 cm grey brown silty sand with 20-30% rounded and • Negative 19 35 subrounded pebbles N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 20-35 cm light grey brown sand with 30-40% rounded and subrounded pebbles • 0-6 cm duff • 6-23 cm grey brown silty sand with 20-30% rounded and • Negative 20 34 subrounded pebbles N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 23-34 cm light grey brown clayey silty sand with 30-40% rounded and subrounded pebbles • 0-5 cm duff • 5-15 cm light grey brown silty sand with 5% rounded • Negative 21 25 and subrounded pebbles N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 15-25 cm grey brown clayey silty sand with 10-20% rounded and subrounded pebbles • 0-6 cm duff • 6-22 cm grey brown silty sand with 5% rounded and • Negative 22 34 subrounded pebbles N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 22-34 cm light grey brown clayey silty sand with 5-10% rounded and subrounded pebbles • 0-11 cm duff • Negative 23 34 • 11-34 cm light grey brown clayey silty sand with 10-20% N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic rounded and subrounded pebbles, and 5% cobbles • Negative 24 14 • 0-6 cm duff N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic

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Shovel Results DBS (cm) Stratigraphy Other Comments/Photos Test Lithics Faunal FCR • 6-14 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and cobbles at depth • 0-7 cm duff • 7-16 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% • Negative 25 16 N N N rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and • Historic debris – glass, plastic cobbles at depth • 0-7 cm duff • 7-10 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% • Negative 26 10 N N N rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and • Historic debris – glass, plastic cobbles at depth • 0-7 cm duff • 7-11 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% • Negative 27 11 N N N rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and • Historic debris – glass, plastic cobbles at depth • 0-7 cm duff • 7-12 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% • Negative 28 12 N N N rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and • Historic debris – glass, plastic cobbles at depth • 0-7 cm duff • 7-19 cm light grey brown silty sand • Negative 29 34 N N N • 19-34 cm grey brown sand • Historic debris – glass, plastic • 30-40% rounded and subrounded pebbles throughout • 0-7 cm duff • 7-14 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% • Negative 30 14 N N N rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and • Historic debris – glass, plastic cobbles at depth • 0-7 cm duff • 7-11 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% • Negative 31 11 N N N rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and • Historic debris – glass, plastic cobbles at depth • Negative 32 10 • 0-5 cm duff N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic

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Shovel Results DBS (cm) Stratigraphy Other Comments/Photos Test Lithics Faunal FCR • 5-10 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and cobbles at depth • 0-6 cm duff • 6-11 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% • Negative 33 11 N N N rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and • Historic debris – glass, plastic cobbles at depth • 0-5 cm duff • Negative 34 12 • 5-12 cm light grey brown clayey silt; compact clay at N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic depth • 0-5 cm duff • Negative 35 29 • 5-29 cm compact grey brown sandy silt with 5-10% N N N • Historic debris – plastic, ceramic rounded and subrounded pebbles • 0-5 cm duff • Negative 36 10 • 5-10 cm compact brown sandy silt with 60-70% rounded N N N • Historic debris – glass, plastic, lots of and subrounded pebbles and cobbles ceramic • 0-6 cm duff • Negative 37 6 • 6+ cm compact pebbles and cobbles with traces of N N N • Historic debris – glass, ceramic brown sandy silt • 0-6 cm duff • 6-14 cm grey brown sand with traces of silt, and 30-40% • Negative 38 14 N N N rounded and subrounded pebbles; compact pebbles and • Historic debris – glass, plastic cobbles at depth

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