“The Stein Valley is an intact, well-documented associative cultural landscape of great significance to the Nlaka’pamux. This protected wilderness area contains spectacular scenery and outstanding cultural and spiritual values. Transitioning from the dry interior to the wetter Coastal Mountains, the valley encompasses diverse ecological zones, including open pine forests, cedar groves, alpine tundra, and glaciers. This varied environment sustains many species of plants and animals important to the Nlaka’pamux, including medicinal plants, mushrooms, cedars, trout and deer. The Stein Valley continues to be an important place for hunting, fishing, gathering, and spiritual pursuits, and ancient trails are used and maintained throughout the valley. Many culturally significant places are present, including named places, spiritual and sacred sites, traditional use areas, groves of culturally modified cedars, archaeological sites, a rare arborglyph, and pictograph sites, including one of the largest and most significant panels in the province of British Columbia. There is a well-known petroglyph boulder near the mouth of the Stein as it enters the Fraser River. The many tangible and intangible attributes of the Stein Valley cultural landscape attest to the ongoing traditional and spiritual significance of this valley for the Nlaka’pamux”
This status recognizes places or areas as world heritage sites, which may be natural, cultural or mixed. The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Heritage defines a cultural site as: "works of man or the combined works of man and nature, as well as areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view". The convention defines a natural site as: "of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science, conservation of natural beauty."
Nomination: Places eligible for this status must already be recognized by the country for its outstanding heritage character. In Canada, the place must already be recognized at the provincial and then federal level to apply. One of the first steps is to be selected in the tentative list of potential heritage sites as is the case for the Stein Valley in British Columbia. For details on the nomination process, follow this link.
Duration: Permanent
Useful links:
Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage
World Heritage List Nominations
Timeline for the acquisition of the status by Pimachiowin Aki
