Aboriginal Gathering Place off to a slow but steady start
Kwantlen’s new Aboriginal Gathering Place, located in the main building of the Surrey Campus, has received significant attention for its contemporary design and architecture
Kwantlen is just one of the several public, post-secondary institutes to receive funding from the provincial government to create gathering places that reflect Aboriginal culture in B.C.
By Kristi Alexandra [Culture Editor]
Kwantlen’s new Aboriginal Gathering Place, located in the main building of the Surrey Campus, has received significant attention for its contemporary design and architecture—having won both the 2010 British Columbia Wood Design Award in interior beauty design from the Canadian Wood Council and the 2010 Innovation Award from the Architectural Institute of British Columbia—but students want to know how the 110-square-metre space will benefit them.
“Something we have in mind [for the space] is utilizing it as a hang-out space,” says Josh Mitchell, director of student life and advising. “It’s already a space where students can access advising support, tutoring, and library support.” He added that the long-term plans for the Aboriginal Gathering Place include an elder-in-residence program, workshop facilitation, and Continuing Education programs.
The space, which was named Xthum in honour of the Coast Salish language, meaning “basket and drum”, held its opening ceremony on May 28 and was celebrated and attended by members of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo and Tswassen First Nations communities, along with representatives of Kwantlen Polytechnic University. The idea, according to Mitchell, is to “focus on the Aboriginal students who are attending Kwantlen,” of which there were over 470 in the past year—a 26 per cent increase since 2003.
Although the amount of Aboriginal students seem to be on the steady incline, that number is still just a fraction when compared to the other 17,000 non-Aboriginal students currently attending Kwantlen Polytechnic University. The B.C. provincial government donated $600,000 to have the gathering place built in hopes to heighten First Nations representation within the University community.
“Gathering places like this one encourage Aboriginal students to start, stay in and succeed in higher learning, and ensure all British Columbians have access to advanced education and training,” says Moira Stillwell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development.
But with all the press about the prestigious awards the space has won for architectural design, students might wonder if the focus on the design somehow reflects an Aboriginal or learning philosophy that Kwantlen wishes to convey.
“The space itself is taking significant cues primarily from regional First Nations culture, architecture, history and art,” says Mitchell, “all the while meeting the modern needs of any University. What I think is a very striking and beautiful space, you’ll also see computers, wireless, projectors, and even a small kitchen because hopefully, we’ll have student groups using the space for small events and those kinds of things.”
Mitchell adds that the space “is a real blending of [historical and modern values]. The University is absolutely interested in creating more student-centred spaces outside of the classroom than we currently have, and I think this is a good example of that—albeit a highly specific one.”
For the time being, the space is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday but Mitchell says that he anticipates the hours of operation to change as dictated by student feedback. The summer, he reassures, is a slow academic season and says the school won’t be able to gauge the ABP’s success until September when more students are on campus.
