(Image Credit: TRU)
thompson rivers university

TRU breaks ground on new Indigenous Education Centre

Sep 19, 2024 | 6:15 PM

KAMLOOPS – Thursday morning (Sept. 19), Thompson Rivers University broke ground on a new Indigenous Education Centre.

The $22-million project was announced almost a year ago, with construction slated to begin later this fall.

“I think it’s really exciting because this is a chance for us to have a physical footprint here on campus instead of just smatterings and sprinkling here and there,” said TRU Secwépemc Cultural Advisor Ted Gottfriedson. “We will have a place that is like a very important place for us to all gather and just be in one place.”

According to TRU, the IEC will feature a community gathering space, outdoor classrooms integrating natural elements and dedicated areas for Elders, ceremonial activities and Indigenous research.

Gottfriedson says the building’s architecture is based on a traditional Secwépemc summer lodge.

“It’s really exciting that TRU has gone that route to include and incorporate Secwépemc ways of knowing in the building itself, in the actual look of the building,” he said.

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