Multi-Purpose Building Preliminary Work to Start Next Week
Written by Jeremy Zafran on 9 September 2022
The Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkhwa Language & Cultural Center and its partners say that preliminary work at the site for the new Multi-Purpose Building that will house the Cultural Center, Museum and Theatre will begin next week. Ietsénhaienhs Jessica Lazare who is on the Heritage Portfolio, MCK Technician Trina Diabo and KORLCC Executive Director Lisa Phillips were all guests on Tetewathara today. Diabo discussed the project’s timeline:
“This project began in 2016, it began with just discussing if this project, getting a new building for the cultural center and the museum. It grew and the theatre became a partner and in 2018 we did a one year extensive feasibility study and since then, in July 2019, we started putting in financial proposals for the capital costs of the building and tourism has become an integral part of the project.”
Work is being done in preparation at the site adjacent to the Kahnàwake Survival School for the official ground-breaking and construction, which could begin as early as next spring. Trees and brush will be removed starting the week of September 26 and completed by end of October. Lazare saying the site needs to be ready to start the construction and gives props to Trina’s efforts to this point:
“There’s no waiting for us, we work and especially Trina, she puts in the work: there’s no waiting for her. She pushes everything, she makes sure that everything is done properly, there’s no waiting on anything to get anything done, if something can be done while we’re waiting on something, let’s do it. She’s been really, really good and working really, really hard on all the different pieces up until this point before I got on and while I’ve got on, all of the applications for funding, all of the different communications with funders and trying to secure funding from the different proponents, she’s very humble.”
The Team has approached knowledgeable community members to assist in identifying plans and uses for the trees to be removed, to carry out ceremonies required for tree removal, and to help identify medicinal or invasive plants. If medicines are found, they will be required to be dug up and re-planted elsewhere.
