The Lhtako Dené Nation is taking big steps towards building an Indigenous Cultural Centre on Quesnel’s riverfront, and if all goes well, the nation will own the centre and the land on which it sits.
Quesnel City Council agreed this week to return the land at Ceal Tingley Park to Lhtako Dené Nation for the proposed Lhtako Dené Indigenous Cultural Centre project.
This site, at the confluence of the Fraser and Quesnel rivers, is significant to the Lhtako Dené as the site of a major settlement, according to a joint press release from the City and the Lhtako Dené Nation, which notes this site is also historically significant as the site of first contact with European explorers when Alexander Mackenzie first travelled through the area, and later, with Simon Fraser as he journeyed down the Fraser River.
The Lhtako Dené Nation has submitted an application for an Invest in Canada Infrastructure grant in the Rural and Northern Communities stream. This grant provides up to 100 per cent funding for Indigenous, off-reserve projects like the Cultural Centre.
The transfer of land ownership will occur once the funding is in place for the project...
...Architect Alfred Waugh, owner of Formline Architecture, shared the vision for the Lhtako Dené Indigenous Cultural Centre with council and the public during the Feb. 19 meeting...
...The site itself is above the 200-year flood plain, and the site area is roughly 31,000 square feet, explained Waugh.
Plans for the proposed 18,000-square-foot Lhtako Dené Indigenous Cultural Centre include an archival space to house repatriated local indigenous artifacts, a 250-seat community assembly space, art gallery, gift shop and café.
The two primary components — the community assembly space and an exhibition space — feature a pit house structure to honour the Lhtako Dené’s history.
From the Quesnel Cariboo Observer