Gitwangak Battle Hill National Historic Site of Canada

Kitwanga Fort National Historic Site of Canada Management Plan Review

Newsletter #1 April, 2002

Introduction

This newsletter launches the management plan review for Kitwanga Fort National Historic Site of Canada. Kitwanga Fort, a former fortified village site associated with the history of the Gitwangak First Nation, was declared a national historic site in 1971. The 7.3 hectare site located adjacent to the Kitwanga river consists of a large steep-sided hill known as Ta'awdzep or Battle Hill. Cedar plank dwellings surrounded by palisades once crowned the hill, providing vantages of the Kitwanga River valley to the north and south. The fortified village site held a strategic position immediately adjacent to the Kitwankul Trail, also known as the "Grease Trail" for its key role in the transport of oolichan grease, an important foodstuff for First Nations in northern British Columbia.

According to Gitwangak legend, the warrior Nekt constructed the fort and surrounding palisades in the late 1700s. Renowned for his distinctive slate and bearskin armour and "strike-only-once" club, Nekt fought to establish control of the network of lucrative trading trails in the Skeena, Kitimat and Nass region.

This short newsletter provides an introduction to the management plan review. The Parks Canada planning team encourages you to contribute your suggestions to new management proposals for the ongoing protection and presentation of Kitwanga Fort National Historic Site. Attend an upcoming open house session or share your comments with us on the enclosed comment form.

Parks Canada Management Planning

What are management plans?

Management plans are strategic documents that establish long-term direction for the management of a national historic site, park or marine conservation area. The fundamental goal of a national historic site management plan is to ensure the commemorative integrity of a site. Commemorative integrity means the health or wholeness of a site. A site has integrity when:

• the resources that represent its importance are not impaired or under threat;

• the reason's for the site's national historic significance are effectively communicated to the public;

• the site's heritage values are respected by all whose decisions or actions affect the site.

Why are we initiating a management plan review?

The Parks Canada Agency Act (1998) stipulates that all management plans be reviewed and updated on a five-year basis. Management plan reviews provide an opportunity to review the implementation of the current site management plan and to determine new management priorities and projects for the on-going protection and presentation needs of a site. Reviews also ensure that you, the citizens of Canada, have an opportunity to share your suggestions and concerns for a site. The revised plan will seek to identify new proposals to enhance the protection and presentation of the site's cultural and natural resources.

Kitwanga Fort's Site Management Plan

The site's current management plan was prepared in 1981. Since that time, a number of changes have been made to Parks Canada's management policies and priorities, one of which is the formal requirement for all sites to have an approved plan by 2003 and to review this plan every five years. Although the site's plan is twenty years old many of the protection and presentation values remain consistent. On the other hand, the 1981 plan included significant site upgrade and reconstruction proposals. Parks Canada's policy has evolved as we no longer view re-constructions of historic sites, such as the Kitwanga fort complex and palisade, to be the most effective means of protecting and presenting a site's cultural resources. This plan review seeks to identify other means of presenting Kitwanga Fort's fascinating history.

What does Kitwanga Fort Commemorate?

Commemorative intent is a term used to represent the distinct reason(s) that a site was identified and commemorated as a site of national significance by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC). Appreciating the historic significance of Kitwanga Fort is fundamental to ensuring that the site's cultural resources are appropriately protected and presented.

Kitwanga Fort was commemorated for:

• the presence of an 18^th century Gitwangak hill top fort (Ta'awdzep);

• the association with legends which recall the epic battles of the warrior Nekt who fought to gain control of the network of lucrative trading trails from the Nass to the Kitimat rivers.

The protection of cultural resources is one of Parks Canada's principal mandates. A cultural resource is:

A human work or a place which gives evidence of human activity or has spiritual or cultural meaning, and which has been determined to have historic value.

Parks Canada makes a distinction between resources that are directly related to the historic significance of a site (Level 1) and those with historic value that are not directly associated to the site or event (Level 2).

Kitwagna Fort Planning Team

The management plan review team is led by a small group of Parks Canada staff with diverse expertise in history, archaeology, planning, public consultation, administration, operations and visitor services. The planning team will work closely with the Gitwangak First Nation through the entire review process.

Management Plan Issues and Proposals

The planning team has identified the following list of preliminary management issues and proposals. We encourage you to review the draft proposals and to contribute further suggestions for consideration.

I. Resource Protection

Designated Place : the designated place is recognized as the area encompassed by the hill top fort, and other resources in the vicinity that are directly tied to its use and occupation. Further assessment work would assist is protecting the resources of the designated place.

• conduct a detailed site inventory/assessment to delineate the boundaries of the fortified site;

• complete a detailed site vegetation assessment and develop a long-term management strategy.

Archaeological Resources : research conducted in the 1970s revealed a considerable number of surviving in situ resources. Archaeological work would assist in constructing a complete record of the site's resources.

• review/compile research on archaeological works completed to date;

• conduct field assessments to determine resource protection needs;

• develop a resource protection strategy for in situ archaeological resources.

Moveable Cultural Resources : the site's collection of artifacts, archaeological field notes, site maps, slides, and photographs is not suitably established. Further work is needed to archive these resources.

• inventory the resource collection and develop a protection strategy for its long-term care.

Oral History Recordings : ethnographic stories were recorded in the early 1900s and a series of recordings was made with Gitwangak Elders in the 1970s. Little has been done with these resources since the 1970s.

• develop a strategy to document, transcribe and protect the original oral history recordings;

• identify strategies to integrate recordings into new site interpretive media.

Gitwangak Poles : between 1835 and 1940 a series of poles were carved by the Gitwangak to commemorate their ancestors, specifically focussing on Nekt and the Kitwanga Fort (Ta'awdzep). The poles remain the sole property of the Gitwangak. Parks Canada recognizes the cultural significance of the poles and their direct tie to the site. To assist the Gitwangak we propose to:

• work closely with the Gitwangak First Nation to develop a conservation plan for the poles.

II. Heritage Presentation

Seven interpretive panels and a visitors site brochure were developed in the mid 1980s. The planning team recognises the need to upgrade interpretive media to improve the heritage presentation services available to site visitors.

• assess the condition and effectiveness of current interpretive media (panels, brochures, internet);

• develop a heritage presentation plan to upgrade and/or replace the site's interpretive media.

III. Heritage Values

The protection and care of all resources (level 1 or 2) is fundamental to ensuring the commemorative integrity of the site. The planning team recognizes the importance of working with the Gitwangak First Nation, community groups, and other stakeholders to ensure the protection of the site.

• explore new opportunities to manage, promote and protect Kitwanga Fort National Historic Site;

• work closely with the Gitwagak First Nation on the presentation of the Gitwangak poles.

IV. Visitor Services

The planning team recognizes the need to address visitor services, site maintenance, and site marketing as integral components of the management plan review. Visitor service proposals and projects being considered include the following:

• assess the physical condition of site facilities and develop a strategy for ongoing maintenance;

• complete a visitor analysis to identify regional visitor groups;
  " develop a site marketing plan (explore regional marketing with other Parks Canada sites);

• recommend visitor facilities appropriate to those identified by market and visitor surveys;

• upgrade/replace site signage.

We welcome all comments and/or suggestions. If you feel that an issue has been missed, please let us know.

What Happens Next...

The development of a revised management plan will include the following events and stages. Public input is appreciated throughout the plan review process.

Contact Information

Please contact us if you have any further comments and/or questions, or if you would like to be added to the project's mailing list.

Ernie Gladstone, Field Unit Superintendent
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and
Haida Heritage Site
PO Box 37
Queen Charlotte, BC
V0T 1S0

Phone: 250-559-6300
Fax Machine: 250-559-8366
E-mail: ernie.gladstone@pc.gc.ca
Internet: www.parkscanada.gc.ca/kitwangafort

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. We would appreciate your comments and suggestions on the Kitwanga Fort National Historic Site Management Plan Review.