Archaeology

A race to save Indigenous trails may change the face of archaeology

A natural gas pipeline in British Columbia threatens a group’s cultural heritage

A photo of an empty trail in the woods

A natural gas pipeline threatens the Babine Trail (shown), an Indigenous trail that cuts through northwestern British Columbia.

Carla Lewis

By Sujata Gupta

Wind jostles the helicopter as we skim over dense forest and the snow-covered peaks of the Coast Mountains. We are flying over northwestern British Columbia, and from this aerial vantage point, it’s easy to see how mid-19th century European fur trappers called this land wild.