Tulı́t'a, N.W.T., to get new office and cultural centre to serve community and tourists
Parks Canada has announced new funding for an office and cultural centre in Tulı́t'a, N.W.T., to better support staff in connecting residents and visitors with the land.
Parks Canada announced Friday that it will spend $16.5 million on the new space, which will also be the operations base for Naats'ihch'oh National Park Reserve. The building will include a cultural centre exhibition and will allow community members and visitors to gather.
The community's cultural centre is currently in a small trailer and Douglas Yallee, the community's mayor, described the space as "cramped with employees." He said the new building will be an improvement.
The new space will help create jobs for those in the community and boost tourism to the park, according to Parks Canada. Nááts'įhch'oh National Park Reserve's acting superintendent, Dameon Wall, said it was all designed in collaboration with the community, including a number of elders, during public consultation sessions with Parks Canada.
"I'd like to stress just how connected this project is with the community," Wall said. "Just how strong those relationships are, and how strong that connection is between the Sahtu Dene and Métis people and Parks Canada."
Some of the elders who were part of the consultation process have since died. For Yallee, that means that while the centre aims to preserve the cultural heritage of the Sahtu Region, it already is preserving those elders' history.
"I'm excited to see it up and running because there is input from the community members into the design building. It's going to be good," he said.
The park, which is located southwest of the Sahtu Settlement in the Northwest Territories, is home to a rich diversity of animals, including Dall sheep, grizzly bears, woodland caribou, and trumpeter swans. It also helps protect Mount Nááts'įhch'oh and the Tehjeh Deé — South Nahanni River — watershed.
Yellowknife-based company Northern Industrial Construction won the contract to build the centre. The administrative office is expected to open in the fall of 2026, with the centre set to open to the public in 2027.
While Yallee said the process to secure funding for the centre was lengthy, he is excited now that the project is beginning and is looking forward to the centre's completion.
"It took a number of years," he said. "But it's here, finally."
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