A place to breathe

After decades of advocacy for a dedicated space for Indigenous students, faculty, and staff at SFU, the community came together to celebrate the grand opening of the First Peoples’ Gathering House on September 12.

The newly-opened 15,000-square foot longhouse now stands proudly along the ceremonial walkway on SFU’s Burnaby campus, where Indigenous students can gather to practice, learn, and share in their cultural traditions.

“It's just truly inspiring and empowering to finally be standing in this space that we have all dreamed of for so many years,” says Chris (Syeta’xtn) Lewis, Indigenous executive lead at SFU. 

“This is a place where our Indigenous students, faculty, and staff can come and rejuvenate their spirit and connect with each other in ways that we haven’t been able to thus far. It’s a home-away-from-home, a place where people can feel safe to be who they are and express their traditions and customs.”

The House will be used for teaching, learning, gathering, and ceremony, but also for weaving, basketry, and other forms of making. In addition to a Ceremonial Hall, Elder’s Lounge, and Multi-generational Lounge, it also features a dedicated Maker’s Space—the first space of its kind in any Indigenous Gathering House in the Lower Mainland. It will also be a place where non-Indigenous people can come to learn about Truth and Reconciliation, decolonization, and Indigenization.

While construction of the building began in April 2023, Chris says that it has been a long journey leading to this moment.

“The journey started, I would say, in the late ‘90s, early 2000s, where we started envisioning our own longhouse, our own cultural hub. It’s important to recognize the people who began advocating for an Indigenous space on our campus more than 20 years ago. It’s because of their efforts that this beautiful building stands proudly in the heart of our community.”

The stunning building was designed by Indigenous architect Ouri Scott (Tłı̨chǫ Dene) of Urban Arts Architecture through extensive collaboration with the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Host First Nations and SFU’s Indigenous students, faculty, and staff.

With generous funding from the Province of British Columbia and the City of Burnaby, and the university’s own investment, the First Peoples’ Gathering House marks a powerful and visible step forward in SFU’s ongoing efforts to uphold Truth and Reconciliation.

“Upholding Truth and Reconciliation has been a priority at this university for a number of years, but to have people walk down the ceremonial walkway and see this building is a wonderful example of really bringing our commitments to life,” says Joy Johnson, SFU president and vice-chancellor.

“That being said—this is an important milestone on the journey, not the end of the journey. We have a lot of work ahead of us, with host nations, with Indigenous students, faculty, and staff and with community members, partners, and government, to continue to uphold Truth and Reconciliation.”