By Rachael Lesosky, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter It was a crisp, sunny day on March 6 for the Arrow Lakes Caribou Society (ALCS) open house at the Caribou Maternity Pen. The morning began with a ceremony held by the Sinixt Confederacy, to honour the mountain caribou and make offerings for their recovery. “The caribou for my ancestors were a really big food source,” said Rick Desautel, outreach technician with the Sinixt Confederacy. “If the caribou hadn’t fed my grandfather, I wouldn’t be here today.” Historically, the Central Selkirk herd traversed the Monashee, Selkirk, and Purcell ranges. However, their population has dwindled to just 28 adults in only the Selkirk range near Nakusp and Trout Lake. The ALCS’s maternity pen – constructed in 2019 – aims to alleviate pressures on pregnant…
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