SICC’s Keeping House Proposal Suffers Setback
Friday, March 31, 2006 at 14:12
A First Nations leader is disappointed a native cultural centre in Saskatoon recently missed out on a multi-million-dollar grant.
Last week, the federal government announced a total of $10 million in funding for four projects in Saskatoon as a tribute to Saskatchewan’s Centennial last year.
The Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre’s Keeping House proposal was among the 19 projects that applied for the funding, but it didn’t make the final cut.
Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations vice-chief Morley Watson admits the cultural centre was pinning most of its hopes on this particular funding opportunity.
The Keeping House concept was drawn from discussions with elders in the early 1970s. They envisioned a facility that would showcase the talent of all the First Nations linguistic groups in the province. It would also serve as a place to protect repatriated artifacts and sacred and iconic items of cultural significance.
The estimated cost of the project is $3.23 million.
Watson says the dream is not dead. He believes the facility will become a reality in the not-too-distant future.