Sylvie Paillard
[email protected]
The First Nations of the Sea to Sky have just received considerable help in the promotion of their culture, history and heritage.The Squamish and Lil'wat First Nations announced Feb. 8 that the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Foundation has committed to invest $350,000 to support the development of the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in Whistler.
Opening in the summer of 2007, the Cultural Centre will celebrate and showcase the history, creative works, and cultures of the two Nations.
"The Cultural Centre unites the Squamish and Lil'wat Nations," said Chief Gibby Jacob of the Squamish Nation.
"It gives us a place where we can celebrate our ancient customs and contemporary history, a place where our performers, artists and storytellers can share our rich traditions with the world.
"Our partnership with RBC greatly enhances our ability to enrich the experience of visitors to Whistler and to share our culture with school children."
In March 2001, the Squamish and Lil'wat Nations signed an historic protocol agreement committing them to identifying issues of mutual concern within their traditional territories, exploring economic opportunities, and considering shared jurisdiction and co-management.
Under the agreement, the Nations are working together to develop the Cultural Centre.
They have created the Spo7ez Cultural Centre and Community Society (pronounced SPO-ez) to operate the Cultural Centre.
The Squamish and Lil'wat Nations relationship to the land is recorded through oral history dating back thousands of years.
The history records the story of Spo7ez, the area at Rubble Creek at the base of Garibaldi Mountain approximately 16 kilometers south of Whistler where the Squamish and Lil'wat people shared a village.
The village was buried by a rockslide resulting from the Garibaldi Mountain volcano eruption and/or earthquake that occurred thousands of years ago.
The Cultural Centre is a Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Shared Legacy Project.
Most of RBC's contribution will go to apprenticeship and training programs aimed at revitalizing artistic and cultural traditions that have not been practiced for generations and are in danger of being forever lost.
These programs will create art pieces for the Cultural Centre, enhance Squamish and Lil'wat cultural development and improve community members' job and business opportunities.
An important facet of the programs is an educational component in which First Nations youth will share Squamish and Lil'wat culture with school children in the Vancouver and Whistler area.
"We are honoured that RBC has become a major supporter of our Cultural Centre," said Chief Leonard Andrew of the Lil'wat Nation.
"Our people are more than ready to showcase our artists and artisans and to give visitors to Whistler an authentic First Nations cultural experience."
