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Bridging cultural waters

RMOW Policy and Program Development Every spring the ice on Alta Lake cracks along an east-west line in the centre.
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RMOW Policy and Program Development

Every spring the ice on Alta Lake cracks along an east-west line in the centre. As the height of land in the Whistler Valley, Alta Lake drains out of both ends, with northward flowing water going into the Lillooet River and the southerly flows merging with the Cheakamus and ultimately the waters of the mighty Squamish.

These two rivers — Lillooet and Squamish — are also the names of our First Nations neighbours and a watershed moment will occur early next summer as the Squamish-Lil’wat (Lillooet) Cultural Centre opens on the east bank of Fitzsimmons Creek in the Upper Village. Oriented around mountains (rocks), trees (wood), wind and water and aligned with the solar directions to capture and use solar heat and light, this 10,000 square metre facility on 1.6 hectares of Crown Land will be the first step in creating a significant First Nations presence in Whistler since the resort community was established.

Culture, art, heritage, ancient languages and indigenous ethnobotany are all gifts the Squamish and Lil’wat have at their beck and call to share with visitors and residents of the Sea to Sky corridor through the spiritual and built environment in and around the $15 million centre, although these gifts are priceless. A joint effort of all levels of government and the Squamish and Lil’wat, the green-built cultural centre will diversify our resort economy, enhance the visitor experience, offer additional learning opportunities to locals and visitors alike, provide a gathering place grounded in the past, present and future Squamish-Lil’wat experience and allow First Nations culture to become a prominent offering in Whistler to the world.

The project is providing 50 construction jobs, an estimated 15 year-round jobs and additional jobs in summer, for a total of up to 31 full- and part-time staff during the peak season. Entry fees are still in the design phase, but according to Lyle Leo, lead Lil’wat negotiator, the fees will allow for reduced or preferred entry fees for local First Nations and Whistler residents.

According to Leo, a “diversified approach” has added value to every facet of the cultural centre. Lil’wat and Squamish information will dominate, but aboriginal cultures from around the world will be invited to participate in the centre’s programming.

“The centre provides an opportunity to provide our current and future population to step off the Indian reserve and gain some confidence in other positive avenues that are about us and our culture,” Leo says. “Being able to share our stories and ourselves with the world is a great opportunity through this project and the interface of the centre.”

The Squamish Nation has about 3,000 members. Its traditional territory encompasses the Squamish Valley and much of Greater Vancouver. The Lil'wat Nation has about 2,000 members. Its traditional territory lies between Squamish and Lillooet. Both nations often crossed paths in Whistler, around Green and Alta lakes as well as in the Cheakamus Valley, as they roamed the Coast Mountains hunting, cultivating and gathering, to sustain their families and community.

Bounded by the mountains and sea, the Squamish and Lil’wat have occupied these lands since time immemorial, the Squamish in giant cedar longhouses near the Pacific and the Lil’wat spending summers as a semi-nomadic people and winters warm and dry in pit houses built into the ground to ward off cold and snow. We can see Lil’wat pictographs along Highway 99 beside Green Lake, a place where the people were mythologically said to have spread from as a man named Ntci'nemkin saved the Lil’wat children from a great flood in his giant canoe, which ended on top of In-CHUCK-ch peak on the west side of Lillooet Lake. Safe from the deadly waters, these children left the mountain and created settlements and sustenance for themselves in the fertile valleys of the Lillooet and Birkenhead Rivers.

From the three-panel, carved cedar entrance doors that lead into the Great Hall to giant sweeping support beams above, this structure of glass, metal and wood is designed to be a modern interpretation of a traditional Squamish Longhouse and the traditional Lil’wat Pit House (Istken). Treasured artifacts like 12 metre carved cedar ocean-going canoes of the Squamish and the intricate weaved cedar root baskets of the Lil’wat will have a permanent, museum quality home in the Great Hall passing by the carved welcome figures inviting all inside. As well, an 80-seat multimedia theatre will take guests on a journey over and through Squamish-Lilwat lands. There will be a gift shop stocked and run by the Squamish and Lil’wat, meeting and teaching space and traditional versions of the Longhouse on site.

Looking toward Mount Currie through the massive, north-facing glass wall of the Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Centre, it is clear the time has come to welcome First Nations to our world and vice versa when the centre opens to the public in June 2008. Our valley will become richer through the integration of First Nations into our economy and society as we continue our shared journey toward success and sustainability. We’re all in this together.

To KNOW MORE about other actions that are moving our community toward Whistler2020, to tell us how you’re contributing, or to find out how we’re performing visit www.whistler2020.ca .