Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 18/99) - While the City of Yellowknife prepares to move bodies from the eroding Back Bay Cemetery to Lake View Cemetery, the Yellowknives Dene are saying the site must be preserved.

Ndilo Yellowknives Dene Chief Fred Sangris worked on a traditional knowledge project in 1997 that focused on Weledeh lands. At that time, Back Bay Cemetery was in the report because it was identified as a sensitive site.

"The Weledeh (Yellowknives) people lived here long before the town was born. We lived here, harvested here and we buried our dead here," Sangris said.

"When I read about the city moving bodies, I was concerned because according to our elders, (the Back Bay Cemetery) is one of our sacred burial sites."

The 1997 traditional knowledge report summarized the Dene position on sensitive sites.

"It is of the greatest importance that Weledeh Yellowknives birth and burial sites within sacred and settlement sites not be disturbed under any circumstances," the report stated.

Sangris said when gold was found, settlers recognized the site as a cemetery and started burying their dead there. He said it rests at the end of a Dene travelling trail leading to the North arm of Great Slave Lake that is hundreds of years old.

"People need to know that the Dene people have many sacred sites in the area. It's deep within our customs that where we put our people to rest, the spirits remain," Sangris said.

"Our burial sites are special places. If we pass by them we pay our respects with Dene prayer. We ask for guidance from our spirit elders, we talk to them. Those places can't be disturbed or the bodies removed because it goes against Dene law."

While there are 35 grave sites at Back Bay Cemetery that have been recorded since 1936, Sangris said the only documentation they have is from the elders who remember the names of their forefathers and mothers buried there. Many of those stories date back a century or more.

Sangris said even though the city formed a committee to handle the problem of the cemetery's eroding bank, which threatens to expose bodies, the Yellowknives were never consulted.

"We're asking those people to stop what they're planning and to come and talk to us before they go any further," Sangris said.

"We would support a project to stabilize the bank in a way the cemetery would be protected. There's a way we can work together, we just have to do our best to stop the erosion."

Yellowknife Mayor Dave Lovell was surprised when he heard the Yellowknives claim about the cemetery.

"It was one of the earliest campsites for the settlers of this area and I think it was put there because of its history as a campsite," Lovell said.

"We have no record of it being an aboriginal burial site."

The operation to move the bodies is still in the very early planning stages. Lovell said they would consult with the Yellowknives Dene about their concerns.

"If they have concerns, we're willing to work with the Yellowknives to find a workable solution," Lovell said.

"Whatever is done will be done with complete respect, regardless of what race we're talking about."