Simon Fraser University (SFU) has opened the doors to its new First Peoples’ Gathering House, a long-awaited, $25-million space. The 15,000-square-foot longhouse, perched on SFU’s Burnaby Mountain campus beside the Trottier Observatory, was celebrated on Sept. 12, with a ceremony and cultural performances from the host First Nations, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem).
The Gathering House was designed in close collaboration with the four host nations. Inside, the Great Hall seats 300 people and looks east, a deliberate choice to honour Coast Salish tradition.
Carved house posts stand watch above, each representing one of the nations on whose unceded lands SFU sits. Today, more than 900 Indigenous students are enrolled at SFU.