The Ckultenellcw Cultural Centre is moving closer to a full public opening.
Irene Gilbert, the president of the Northern Secwepmec Cultural Society that operates the cultural centre, recently gave an update to the Cariboo Regional District on how the centre is developing. Construction of the centre, located across the street from the 108 Heritage Site was completed last year. The Ckultenellcw Cultural Centre is intended to showcase the culture and history of the Northern Secwepmec peoples including the Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation, Williams Lake First Nation, Esk’etemc First Nation, Stswecem'c Xget'tem First Nation and the Xatśūll First Nation.
"We just let them know that the communities that are involved right now, the Esk'etemc First Nation, Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation," Gilbert explained. "We are working with Indigenous Tourism B.C. and the University of British Columbia for the residential school (exhibit) and West Bank Museum."
She also said that they did a business plan with Suzanne Dunbar with the Cadence Strategies, which has helped them get a lot of the documents and budgets ready so that when they open, they will be ready to go.
Gilbert also added that they have been working with David Jansen and Associates, who are world-renowned exhibit designers, on a modified exhibit because the ones they had been proposing had been too extravagant.
"So we went down to maybe a $500,000 exhibit plan that hopefully we will have funded," Gilbert said.
Gilbert also added they hoped to have the centre available for group rental by early June 2025. They are currently working on outside exhibits and an ethnobotany trail scheduled to be completed by early summer 2025. They plan to hire a full-time manager for the cultural centre by late May to early June.
In the presentation slides presented to the CRD, the Northern Secwepmec Cultural Society said that they would open the Ckultenellcw Cultural Centre to the public in spring 2025. Gilbert said that they cannot give an exact date as they are still working out kinks, like getting the centre's video conferencing software set up.
"We probably won't start tours until probably June, mid-June, depending on how fast our manager can pick up the ball and go running with it," Gilbert said.
As for the outdoor exhibit and ethnobotany trail that is currently being planned, it will be a guide on how the Northern Secwepmec peoples use nature.
"How we use the roots, how we use the berries, how we use the branches. And if we had it for medicine or was it for tools only? What part of it (did) we use for food? We just break it down and tell you a little story about how the Northern Secwepmec used that plant," Gilbert described.
The indoor exhibit is planned to be a seasonal exhibit about how the Northern Secwepmec peoples experience the four seasons, among others.
"We plan on having Alana Dixon who will be working on a residential school (exhibit) with UBC (University of British Columbia)," Gilbert noted.
The centre had been in development for around two decades and opened to members of the Northern Secwepmec peoples on Sept. 6, 2024. However, it has been closed to the public while the Northern Secwepmec Cultural Society organized and prepared the exhibits for the centre.
With files from Patrick Davies.
