Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation gets nearly $25M in federal funding for heritage complex

The Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation is one step closer to constructing what it says will be the biggest building in Dawson City, Yukon, in the new year.

Last week, Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in leadership, along with Yukon MP Brendan Hanley announced that it has secured $24,998,300 in federal dollars to go toward the construction of a heritage complex, which will be located beside the First Nation's administration building on Front Street.

"I'm happy to have everyone here for this afternoon's announcement," said  Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in's deputy chief Erin McQuaig. "I feel like everyone's lifting us up and it's a really a wonderful feeling."

McQuaig said once completed the building will include many amenities, and will serve as a vibrant hub for Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in culture, past, present and future. She said it will be open to all citizens and their families.

"[There's] a climate controlled space to house and protect our growing collection of heritage items including objects repatriated from museums and private collections around the world," McQuaig said. "There will be designated facilities for us to teach, learn and speak our Hän language. It will be a place for us to see our culture and traditions and to practice them."

Other features included in the heritage complex are an oral history recording studio, a library, a space for archives, and classrooms.

McQuaig said the project's construction tender will be up in January, and she anticipates construction on the 18,000 square-foot, two-storey space will start in the spring.

"We are a people who learn by doing," said McQuaig. "We have made sure there are spaces in the facility to get our hands working. Practising the skills that have helped us to thrive in this place since time immemorial."

"Simply put this will be a place that recognizes that heritage is not something preserved in a museum but kept alive through living and doing."

According to Yukon MP Brendan Hanley, the funding of nearly $25 million for the heritage complex comes from the Green and Inclusive Communities Building Program. 

"This project will help the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation grow by creating a space where members of the community will be able to gather, to learn, and so important to reconnect with the Hän culture, and language."

"Once complete, the facility will directly benefit the health and well-being of this wonderful community."