It has been an exciting and busy time at Gwa-yas-dums. Over the past five years, the village has been undergoing significant redevelopment with a number of capital projects undertaken such as the construction of new homes, a new water treatment facility and most recently, the restoration of the Bighouse.
In restoring the Bighouse we have received project funding from the Island Coastal Economic Trust. Work on restoring the 100 year old Bighouse to its original state is being done with the goal of preserving its history. The work being undertaken will include reinforcing the existing beams, lowering and restoring the floor, restoring the original cedar siding and painting a traditional design on the front of the house based on archival photographs of our village. This restoration project is consistent with our Comprehensive Community Plan and will also provide a safe and appropriate place for our culture to continue to flourish. Building from this strong foundation of family, community and nation will especially serve our youth in many ways, which will create a brighter future for us all.
We could not have made this project possible without the tireless efforts of Dawn Nicolson (Executive Director at Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw Tribal Council). Dawn worked very hard to prepare project proposals for funding, followed up on many funding opportunities and eventually secured our funding grant from Island Coastal Economic Trust
.