NIC, RRC Polytech open Indigenous gathering spaces

North Island College and Red River College Polytechnic have officially opened new Indigenous gathering spaces. NIC celebrated the official opening of Q̓ə pix ʔidaʔas at its Campbell River campus. The building’s design represents a traditional drum. The space will house the Elders in Residence program, a community room, and space for the delivery of language courses and other programming. RRC Polytech has opened the Roundhouse Auditorium at Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, which will be used for events, ceremonies, and collaborative learning. The 210-seat space is sound-proof, ventilated for the use of traditional medicines, and features a Morning Star design embedded in the floor which was created by Anishinaabe/Nêhiyaw/British artist KC Adams. “We often incorporate the future as part of our reality, thinking seven generations ahead,” said Adams. “How we move and how we navigate now affects the future.”