The completion of a new pavilion in the Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park signifies a strengthened partnership between the Host First Nation and the City of Prince George.

However, the road to completion wasn’t without a few problems.

Construction of the pavilion was halted on two different occasions back in 2017 because remains were found while excavating.

Chief Dominic Frederick says some members weren’t happy with the project because of what laid beneath it, but they were able to sort it out with the City.

“We wanted to bring a message to the City and to our community and get things right and do things properly so we weren’t doing anything wrong to keep our community happy and our elders happy.”

Chief Dominic Fredrick | Jeff Slack, MyPGNow

Back when they broke ground Mayor Lyn Hall says they knew they would run into problems like this and made sure they were making the right steps to address it.

“Absolutely at no time did we make arbitrary decisions. Those decisions were always part and parcel of discussions we had collectively with the City, Lheidli T’enneh, and the archeological folks that were doing the dig for us.”

A meeting was held on Friday, May 26th between Lhedidli Elders on what should be done with the remains found. On June 9th, the Host First Nation worked with the Exploration Place and the City of Prince George to return the ancestors remains to the proper resting place in the Lheidli Cemetary.

The pavilion is opening June 21st, National Indigenous Peoples Day, with a series of events.