First Nations command the interest of international visitors to Canada, even if the visitors’ concept of aboriginal life is limited to what they read as kids. But the rich heritage of the nations that first inhabited B.C. is on display from the moment visitors arrive at Vancouver International Airport, and venues across the province give travellers a chance to enjoy the best of First Nations culture as it was, is, and evolves into the future.
“British Columbia has the most diverse aboriginal population,” says Paula Amos, director of partnerships and corporate initiatives with the Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC, noting the province is home to 203 First Nations speaking 40 different languages. “Anywhere you go, you’re going to have a different experience, whether you’re on Vancouver Island or northern B.C.”
The experiences occur in venues from wilderness lodges and upscale resorts to local cultural centres and world-renowned museums.
One of the newest venues is Skwachays Lodge, opened in 2012 by the Vancouver Native Housing Society. Aboriginal art features prominently throughout the downtown hotel, including the boardroom, which seats eight people. The larger Smudge Room can accommodate twice that many, while the Welcome Room and gallery hosts receptions for up to 80 people.
Last year, the Whistler Chamber of Commerce nominated the staff at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre as Whistler Champion of the Arts and Culture. The centre also captured Aboriginal Tourism BC’s 2015 Cultural Centre and Attraction Award.
It is the only centre in the world that has purposefully been designed to demonstrate how two distinct First Nations can share territory, knowledge and cultural practices, showcasing the art and heritage of the Squamish and Lil’wat aboriginal peoples with a museum, modern gallery, craft activities, gift shop, café and theatre. Meeting venues include the Great Hall, which can accommodate 300 guests for a reception or a sit-down dinner for 150. There is also plenty of room to meet on the 2,500-square-foot all-weather patio and in the more intimate Istken Hall.
Farther north, on Vancouver Island, the Kwa’lilas Hotel in Port Hardy has been renovated and reopened under the ownership of the Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw. “Kwa’lilas” is a traditional word that refers to a place to sleep, and the 85-room hotel offers accommodation close to the BC Ferries terminal as well as 5,291 square feet of meeting space in six rooms. Up to 150 people can sit in the Quatsano Ballroom, which has a maximum standing capacity of 210.
Northwest native culture is frequently synonymous with the Haida of Haida Gwaii, whose past and present are showcased at the Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate and Haida House at Tllaal in Tlell on the edge of Naikoon Provincial Park. Haida House is a venture of Haida Enterprise Corp., and besides hosting corporate meetings and secluded wilderness retreats, it’s a sibling venture of Westcoast Resorts, which operates three fishing lodges on the central coast and Haida Gwaii. Haida House emphasizes Haida culture, while the lodges offer an immersive experience as Haida guides lead fishing expeditions on the surrounding waters.
Skwachays Lodge offers an authentic First Nations experience in the heart of downtown Vancouver | Craig Minielly/Aura Photographics
Those with a taste for solid ground will find it in Terrace, a service centre for the northwest located near the famous lava beds of the Nass Valley in Nisga’a provincial park. A short distance away, in Hazelton, is the ’Ksan Historical Village and Museum of the Gitxsan, one of many aboriginal cultural centres available for group rental.
On the opposite side of the province, on the shores of Little Shuswap Lake in Chase, Quaaout Lodge and Talking Rock Golf Resort provides a warm welcome to guests in a conference centre inspired by a traditional kekuli, or winter house. The facilities can accommodate groups of up to 400, with breakout rooms, patio space and a stunning natural backdrop combining to host stand-up receptions for as many as 1,000 people.
The darker side of native experience in Canada is recalled by the grandeur of St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino, a former residential school near Cranbrook with 125 guest rooms and 4,000 square feet of meeting space. Under the local Ktunaxa Nation, the Samson Cree of Alberta and the Chippewas of Rama First Nation of Ontario, the former mission school that received 5,000 children prior to its closure in 1970 now showcases First Nations culture.
In Osoyoos, Chief Clarence Louie spearheaded the creation of the 9,000-square-foot Nk’Mip Conference Centre, the largest meeting space south of Penticton, as well as a host of adjacent attractions including Nk’Mip Cellars, the first aboriginal-owned winery in North America, and the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, where meeting participants have an opportunity to explore the desert floor first-hand.
Groups that don’t want to venture far from Vancouver can also enjoy a taste of First Nations culture through Salmon n’ Bannock, a neighbourhood bistro in Vancouver that has catered traditional meals for groups of up to 250. Whether it’s a five-course sit-down meal at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art or a roast bison buffet at your corporate offices, the meals are among the options for those with an appetite to add a genuine First Nations experience to their meeting agenda.
