Wolastoqi woman continues ceremony in Officers' Square

A Wolastoqi woman has set up a tent and lita ceremonial fire in Officers' Square, where construction work and an archeological assessment are taking place as part of a city renovation project.

Beverley Perley declined to do an interview but said a news release would be sent out shortly explaining her reasons for being there.

A video posted by local blogger Charles Leblanc on Tuesday night shows an encounter between Perley and city firefighters and police, who were responding to an open fire in a metal garbage can in front of her tent.

They participated in her ceremony, which continued without further intervention.

The provincial government is conducting a "comprehensive archeological assessment" of the area before work takes place inside the square for a project that includes a skating oval and performance stage.

The assessment has uncovered artifacts revealing Indigenous people and Europeans were historically present in the area, said an emailed statement from the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture.

The department said that so far, eras have been identified dating back about 2,300 years.

It's possible much older artifacts could be buried deeper, however.

An archeological dig in the Marysville area several years ago turned up items that were 12,700 years old.

At the time, the location near Route 8was the shoreline of a glacial lake, the opposite shore of which would have been around Dundonald Street in downtown Fredericton.

Around the same time as the Marysville dig,Perleywas anarcheological monitor at the proposed Sisson mine site, wherearcheologists working for Stantec losttwo quartz "micro-flakes," or stone chips,thatwere potential artifacts.

"All the work adheres to national and provincial professional conservation standards and procedures," wrote provincial government communications officer Jean Bertin.

A mitigation plan is being developed, he said, to ensure the archeological resources found are conserved.

Bertin added that formal consultation with First Nationsrepresentatives will take place this fall.