The Tsiigehtchic Cultural Centre in the Northwest Territories will get a facelift thanks to $209,800 in funding from Canadian Heritage.
Established in 2015, the facility consists of two buildings, housing a shower and kitchen designed to accommodate paddlers descending the Mackenzie and Arctic Red rivers.
A museum space also houses several objects from Nagwichoonjik’s heritage, including a replica of a 13,650-year-old bison skull.
Tsiigehtchic residents will now have a modern place to celebrate their history and culture and pass on their knowledge to future elders, says Northwest Territories MLA Michael McLeod.
Money from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund will go toward building a winter space that will connect the two existing structures.
In addition, the building will be equipped with a modern heating system that will operate all year round.
The space will house both the cultural centre and the Gwichya Gwich’in band office.
The cultural centre will increase capacity within the community and provide an opportunity for Indigenous artists to showcase their work, says Gwichya Gwich’in Band Council Chief Philip Blake. It will provide employment opportunities and sewing programs, and will be a safe space for band workers. […]. Elders will have a place to tell Tsiigehtchic stories and pass them on to younger generations to preserve the culture.
The community wants to purchase and install a new oven as well as additional display cases for the objects presented in the museum.
The venue, which will become the cultural centre of the Gwichya Gwich’in Band, is scheduled to open in late fall 2024.
The Gwichya Gwich’in Band is a First Nations government representing the Gwich’in people in Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories.
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