First Nation takes over operation of historic Gold Rush-era B.C. site

St’uxwtéws (Bonaparte First Nation) Chief Frank Antoine spent much of his childhood at Hat Creek Ranch.

“I started working here at the age of five,” he said of the tourist attraction, which originally served as a stop on the way to the Cariboo gold fields in the 1860s.

Antoine played with the animals and heard stories from the cowboys who worked on the ranch. He also learned of its history as a stopover for the St’uxwtéws people prior to the Gold Rush.

That’s part of the reason he’s so excited that his community – through the St’uxwtews Pesuten Heritage Society – is taking over operations of the historic site near Cache Creek, B.C., about 215 kilometers northeast of Vancouver.

The move to have St’uxwtéws take over operations is part of a larger shift in the province toward more First Nations-managed historic sites. The provincial government has committed to improving relations with Indigenous communities and transferring increasing control of land management to First Nations.

Chief Frank Antoine heads a number of indigenous tourism groups. (Jenifer Norwell/CBC)

Antoine said the land where the ranch is located has long been used by his community, but indigenous stories have not been fully shared at the popular visitor destination.

“Our history has always been on the shelf and now we get the chance to take it out, dust it off and put it back where it belongs: on the land.”

The number of indigenous operators is expected to increase

According to the Hat Creek Ranch website, the St’uxwtéws people lived a nomadic lifestyle in the area before the Gold Rush-era roadhouse was built.

Now visitors to the tourist site can see how the St’uxwtéws lived off the land, tour the old roadhouse, pan for gold and take carriage rides.

The country has updated the displays at the ranch with demonstration sites and interpretive signs explaining the tanning of hides and drying of vegetables, medicines, roots and berries, along with a model summer lodge, hunting lodge and tepee.

“It’s certainly a big problem for them,” said Roger Tinney, director of the heritage department at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport.

Tinney said the province looks forward to working with St’uxwtéws; the ranch will remain on Crown land.

“It’s not the only site that has an indigenous operator in our portfolio and I think we’ll probably see more of that in the future,” he said.

Lucille Nali is one of the people responsible for explaining the history, as an interpreter of the native site at Hat Creek Ranch.

She said that as a baby from the 1960s, this is a way for her to connect with her culture.

“I just love it,” Nali said.

Lucille Nali is looking forward to showing off the historic indigenous site. (Jenifer Norwell/CBC)

This sentiment is shared by Antoine, board chair of the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance and founder of Moccasin Trails Inc., and a long-time advocate of Indigenous-led tourism projects.

“I want this to be known as an indigenous destination in the world – not just a tourist destination, but an indigenous destination,” he said.

St’uxwtéws also operates the nearby McAbee Fossil site, which offers walking tours. The nation is in the planning stages of designing a cultural site on that land.

Historic Hat Creek Ranch is open annually from early May to late September.