Doig River First Nation officially opens cultural education centre

DOIG RIVER FIRST NATION, B.C. — After some postponements, Doig River First Nation (DRFN) officially opened its new cultural education centre.

Local figures like former North Peace MLA Dan Davies, stewartship manager of the Fort St. John Association for Community Living Jared Braun and representatives from Northern Lights College joined DRFN Chief Trevor Makadahay and the band council to cut the ribbon on the Doig River Cultural Centre on Thursday, April 17th.

Makadahay said the unveiling to the public is a “big step” for the overall continued growth of DRFN’s culture.

“[It] really provides us a space to invest in our culture,” said Makadahay. “[We can] put time into it with language, development of curriculum, all of that.”

Inside the two-story building are three large classrooms, where students from DRFN’s college and career prep program learn. 

The program is run in partnership with Northern Lights College (NLC) along with a kitchen.

The upper level features offices, a board room and a recording studio, where the Beaver language is recorded for online usage. 

According to DRFN cultural education manager Sharon MacDonald, the program has had its first graduate, with Coleen Apsassin fulfilling the requirements of her math course.

“She started in January and finished a couple of weeks ago,” said MacDonald. “We had a celebration for her yesterday. So she’ll be going on to the next program.”

Apsassin, who works in DRFN’s cultural and heritage department, says she had a difficult time in school due to bullying and racism.

“It was a good learning experience,” said Apsassin. “It has been 20 years since I didn’t go to school, so it was a struggle to get back in.

“But I had a great teacher and the students made it well worth coming every day, and it’s amazing.”

Anita Houle, the college and career prep class instructor, said she’s seen enrollment grow by roughly 70 per cent in the program since it started earlier this year.

“We had a decent enrollment amount,” said Houle. “But, change is hard. I was new to the community and it took some time to meet people and to build that trust. It’s been great to see folks show up and be a part of this.”

With the centre now open, one of the reasons for the project was to “practice the culture,” said Makadahay.

“One of the tasks I really thought about [with] our council and our Nation really pushed for was probably the development of a way to teach our language and to pass on our culture,” said Makadahay.

“To keep who you are and your identity alive, you have to practice your culture.”

Further details about DRFN’s Cultural Centre is available on its website.