In the Rocky Mountains Foothills in northeast BC, west of the mighty Peace River, or Saagii Nachii—the Big River, as known by the Dane-zaa, who are the first peoples of this region—rests Kânîsostîkwâw. Kânîsostîkwâw is a Cree phrase that translates as the “Two Mountains That Sit Together,” also known as the Twin Sister Mountains. These magnificent mountains represent a vast and diverse cultural landscape of the past and living histories of the Danezaa, Cree, Saulteau, and other Indigenous Peoples.
Cultural records from archaeological studiesthrough law or policy, but Indigenous Peoples have always known of their existence and watchfully stewarded them for future generations. Cultural remnants and treasures near Kânîsostîkwâw and the Peace River can be up to 12,000 years old. They demonstrate a sharing of technologies and extensive travel patterns from what is now known as California and Alaska to the Peace River Valley. More recently, paleontologists documented a 1,300 square metre dinosaur trackway at the base of Kânîsostîkwâw, which dates to 100 million years old, from the Early Cretaceous period. Knowledge Keepers have passed on stories about the “Big Animals,” or dinasours, and the importance of safeguarding these vulnerable footprints of the past.
