INDIGENOUS SPACES

New investments and demand for Indigenous experiences support development of Indigenous meeting places

GLEN KORSTROM

Increased interest in Indigenous tourism and Indigenous experiences at corporate events is fuelling an expansion of what had been a small part of B.C.’s hospitality and meetings sector.

Increased interest in Indigenous tourism and Indigenous experiences at corporate events is fuelling an expansion of what had been a small part of B.C.’s hospitality and meetings sector.

In part, this renewed interest has come from tragedy.

Indigenous Tourism BC chair Brenda Baptiste says news of 215 unmarked graves discovered last year at the former Kamloops residential school reverberated around the world. Subsequent finds at other sites of former Canadian residential schools similarly helped provide increased awareness. “What that’s led to is a hunger for knowledge around Indigenous culture, languages, ceremonies and experiences,” she says.

Indigenous meeting spaces are in communities across B.C., and reflect a diverse range of cultures from those areas, she says.

Because larger Indigenous meeting spaces tend to be few and far between, Baptiste says one vision could be for the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations to team up to build – perhaps with some government funding – a large Indigenous venue in Metro Vancouver.

If that facility gets built, it would help Destination British Columbia in its efforts to do what the organization’s vice-president of global marketing, Maya Lange, tells BIV is a goal: to “more deeply reflect Indigenous values, stories and storytellers in the Super, Natural British Columbia brand.”

The Klahoose First Nation spent an untold but significant amount to buy land and build the new Klahoose Wilderness Resort during the pandemic • SUBMITTED

The Native Education College has a fireside lounge large enough to accommodate 120 people • ROB KRUYT

Lange says Indigenous tourism experiences in the past have often been “add-on” experiences for visitors from international markets. “Now it’s becoming a driver, or a motivator, for why one would choose to visit B.C.,” she says.

NEW VENUES LURE CORPORATE MEETINGS

More demand for Indigenous experiences is encouraging more investment in Indigenous venues.

During the pandemic, the Klahoose First Nation spent an untold but significant amount to buy land and build the new Klahoose Wilderness Resort, says that resort’s tourism manager Chris Tait. “We’re still doing lots of investments,” he says. “There’s renovations or larger investments, such as a new boat, a new dock, a new sauna or a new hydro system, which is being built right now.”

The lodge has four rooms that have a total of seven queen-sized beds. Three stand-alone cabins have three queen-sized beds each.

Tait says the lodge has so far hosted two corporate retreats. One group was with an Indigenous nation, while the other was a group of managers and directors who were with a private company, he adds.

Bookings from leisure travellers have been rolling in to such a degree that renting the entire resort for a corporate retreat would not be possible until fall, says Tait.

Other investment in Indigenous tourism and corporate meeting spaces came from the Ahousaht First Nation, which in April completed a transaction for its Ahousaht Hereditary Chiefs to spend an undisclosed amount through the Maaqtusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society to buy the Tofino Wilderness Resort – a 126-acre property that includes a 16-room floating lodge, a spa, trails, lakes, staff accommodation and a longhouse.

The remote venue is not accessible by car, and is a 25-minute boat ride from Tofino, Hereditary Chief Tyson Atleo says. “We just finished a few corporate retreats over the last four weeks,” Atleo told BIV in July.

In June, the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation opened the Nemiah Valley Lodge on its territory at the south end of Vedan Lake, which is approximately a two-and-a-half-hours’ drive southwest of Williams Lake.

The resort has seven cabins that each have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and are equipped with Wi-Fi.

These getaways now compete with longstanding Indigenous resorts.

Elijah Mack recently opened his second Kekuli Cafe Indigenous Cuisine, in Kamloops, after finding success with his first such café in Merritt. A third Kekuli Cafe Indigenous Cuisine operates in Kelowna under different ownership.

LONGTIME DESTINATIONS CONTINUE TO ATTRACT VISITORS

The St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino in Cranbrook has long been a destination for corporate gatherings.

Its golf course opened in 2000, with a casino added in 2002. The hotel, added in 2003, now has 125 rooms.

St. Eugene Mission Holdings Ltd. acquired the site in 2017. The venture is owned by the four Ktunaxa communities: ?aqam, ?akinkumasnuqiit (Tobacco Plains), yaqan nukiy (Lower Kootenay) and Kyaknuq+i?it – the Shuswap

The Klahoose First Nation spent an untold but significant amount to buy land and build the new Klahoose Wilderness Resort during the pandemic • SUBMITTED

Indian Band.

Another established destination is on Osoyoos Indian Band land, where the Hyatt-flagged Spirit Ridge Resort & Spa has 226 condos, suites and villas. That site has nearly 16,000-square-feet of event space, and meeting rooms that can hold more than 700 people.

The nearby Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre has one conference room that can hold 30 people. General manager Jenna Bower tells BIV that a facility with a fire pit and capacity of 60 people is set to be complete by the end of the summer.

Some spaces for corporate gatherings in Vancouver include the Bill Reid Gallery, the Musqueam Cultural Centre and Gallery, the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre and the Native Education College – all much smaller than what Baptiste says a city the size of Vancouver can accommodate as a marquee Indigenous venue.

The Bill Reid Gallery, at 639 Hornby Street, has two floors of event space that can accommodate receptions with up to 200 people, and dinners with up to 120 people. NOW IT’S BECOMING A DRIVER, OR A MOTIVATOR, FOR WHY ONE WOULD CHOOSE TO VISIT B.C. Maya Lange Vice-president, global marketing Destination British Columbia

Inez Cook owns what she calls the only Indigenous-owned-and-operated restaurant in Vancouver that serves Indigenous food • ROB

KRUYT

Theatre-style seating for up to 90 people is possible on the gallery’s main floor.

The gallery has a note on its website that it is fully booked for much of the summer and is not accepting rentals at this time.

The gallery at the Musqueam Cultural Education Resource Centre features 1,300 square feet of space, where Musqueam people share their history and culture. The gallery features exhibitions highlighting historic cultural objects and contemporary arts, and is on Musqueam land near the University of British Columbia.

The Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre’s Chief Simon Baker room, with cedar carvings and a skylight, can hold up to 75 theatre-style seats or 60 seats at tables. The facility’s gymnasium can hold up to 450 chairs.

The Native Education College rents space to community groups, with bookings required at least four weeks in advance. Its fireside lounge is large enough to accommodate 120 people, while classrooms are large enough for 25 people. This was a venue used to host Indigenous dinners during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The Skwachàys Lodge Aboriginal Hotel and Gallery has 18 rooms. It is distinctive in that it also houses on-site housing and studio space for 24 Indigenous artists.

Salmon n’ Bannock, at 1128 West Broadway, bills itself as Vancouver’s only Indigenous-owned-and-operated restaurant that serves Indigenous food.

Owner Inez Cook serves bison and venison, as well as salmon, bannock and other traditional Indigenous foods. She is not able to sell moose because meat wholesalers such as Hills Foods Ltd. are not allowed to sell it, she says.

Health Canada requires federal meat inspections for meat and poultry that is sold or transported in Canada for local consumption or export, and those inspections are not available for moose.

Cook says she can close her restaurant and rent it to corporate groups up to 34 people as long as the booking is made far in advance.

Salmon n’ Bannock requires reservations and is often fully booked days in advance.

The D/6 lounge is one of several meeting and events spaces at The Douglas • SUBMITTED

The Douglas makes Michelin’s hotel guide The boutique hotel and meeting place venue was selected for its uniqueness and local know-how

Elana Shepert

With its iconic elevator, eclectic furnishings, scenic terraces and luxury suites, The Douglas – part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection of boutique hotels – is a beautifully appointed meeting space.

Now, the hotel – an homage to the Douglas fir trees that lined the banks of False Creek for thousands of years – has made the Michelin Guide’s “trusted selection of unique hotels.”

Launched in 2021, Michelin says its hotel guide is curated with the same high standards as its restaurants.

The list includes hotels that “inspire discovery or adventure” and are selected by a community of travellers and Tablet Hotels – the Michelin Guide’s hotel experts since 2018.

“We’re honoured to be a part of the Michelin Guide’s hotel selection,” says Graeme Benn, dual property general manager of JW Marriott Parq Vancouver and The Douglas.

“The Douglas aims to spark curiosity, and we’ve designed several programs to that end. From the hidden lounge in D/6, to the revolving ‘Storyteller in Residence’ series and the elevated sixth-floor park which breathes life back into the city, we invite guests and locals to discover something new with every visit.”

Michelin searches the globe to find hotels that accommodate a variety of tastes and budgets. The Douglas joins seven other Vancouver hotels who made the book, including properties such as L’Hermitage Hotel, the Fairmont Pacific Rim and Opus Hotel.

The Douglas was selected for its “uniqueness, excellence in all areas, local know-how and the art of living.”

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