Kwikwetlem First Nation unveils new affordable housing development
Members of the nation are going to move into 14 new homes on reserve next month
A new housing development is bringing Kwikwetlem First Nation members from across the Pacific Northwest home.
On Tuesday, the nation announced that a number of individuals and Elders are moving into 14 new homes located on an ancient village site, now called slakəyánc, which currently hosts about 36 per cent of the nation’s population.
Tenants of the new development, which includes two three-storey buildings and one two-storey building, are expected to move in next month.
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“With this new multi-unit housing project we are able to welcome back home more of our members and elders who have been living in the United States, as well as other parts of the Lower Mainland to rejoin their community and return to their ancestral village of slakəyánc,” wrote Kwikwetlem First Nation Chief Ron Giesbrecht in a press release.
The population of the Kwikwetlem First Nation has grown by 6.8 per cent each year from 2011 to 2023, Giesbrecht added.
The development — officially located at Lot 16, 65 Colony Farm Rd. — will provide the growing nation with a new source of affordable housing, as the cost of housing continues to rise in the Tri-Cities.
The homes are also the first development to be completed by the Kwikwetlem First Nation since a 2020 land code decision transferred the management of the reserve land back to the nation.
Previously, the federal government had managed the reserve lands since 1876.
The nation’s traditional territory stretches from what is now known as Golden Ears Provincial Provincial Park to Burns Bog.
Since the mid-1800’s the Kwikwetlem First Nation has maintained two reserves along the lower portion of the Coquitlam River. slakəyánc, which was known as Coquitlam I.R. 1, is roughly 6.5 acres. setɬamékmən is 200 acres and currently under development by KFN Enterprises, an economic branch of the nation.
The housing project was a collaboration between the Kwikwetlem First Nation, BC Housing, and Indigenous Services Canada.
BC Housing contributed roughly $3 million to the development, while Indigenous Services Canada chipped in with $825,000.
The housing units will be operated by the KFN Housing Society, a non-profit organization led by the nation. Monthly rents are expected to vary from $500 for a one-bedroom home to $1,200 for a four-bedroom unit.
“Communities are stronger when people can grow up there, raise a family and age in place,” stated Fin Donnelly, MLAfor Coquitlam-Burke Mountain, in a release
“Thank you to the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm Nation for their leadership in building these homes.”
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