Indigenous cultural centre to border on Okanagan Rail Trail in Lake Country

KELOWNA – Senior governments have kicked in most of the money to build a $4 million Indigenous Cultural Centre and Nature Park in Lake Country.

The infrastructure program funding ($1.6 million from the federal government and $1.3 million from the province) was announced last week along with other B.C. projects in Tsawwassen but was made public today, Sept. 11, in a news release from Lake Country.

“The centre will contribute to promoting tourism as well as further understanding of the traditional and continued land use of the Syilx Okanagan people,” states the news release.

While it will be located next to the Okanagan Rail Trail, the exact location was not stated in the news release.

A wetland will be incorporated into the project in order to aid in treating stormwater as well as restoring the wetland and grassland.

The building will include a multi-purpose program space, an exhibition gallery that can also be used as an event hall, ab outdoor patio, a meeting room and a kitchen.

It is a joint project between Lake Country and the Okanagan Indian Band but no breakdown for their $1.3 million share of the costs was provided by the district in the news release.

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