Dawn Construction is deeply honoured to partner with the Tla’amin Nation as they break ground on their new cultural centre – the inspiring Ɂəms ʔayɛ (“Our House”) facility. This significant milestone marks not only the start of construction, but the beginning of a new chapter in honouring Tla’amin language, culture, food-sovereignty and community well-being.
Why this project matters
On February 20 2024, the Tla’amin Nation held a ground-blessing ceremony to launch construction on Ɂəms ʔayɛ — the first cultural house to be built in Tla’amin territory in over 200 years.
The facility will include:
A feast hall and cultural gathering space (≈ 2,000 sq ft capable of hosting up to 350 guests).
A museum and archival repository to honour and preserve Tla’amin material culture.
A traditional-foods processing facility, including outdoor food-processing areas, smokehouse, medicinal gardens and teaching spaces for Elders, youth and harvesters.
A language-lab and recording studio to support transmission of ʔayʔaǰuθəm and other cultural teachings.
Dawn Construction’s role & commitment
As lead contractor, Dawn Construction is honoured to bring this vision to life in partnership with the Tla’amin Nation. We commit to carrying out the work with the highest respect for the land, culture and community values of the Nation. Our team recognises the importance of this building as more than bricks and beams – it is a home for cultural revitalization, gathering, teaching and connection across generations.
We are excited to:
- Work closely with Nation leadership, Elders, cultural-heritage staff and community members to ensure design, constructability and site execution reflect Tla’amin priorities.
- Deliver safe, high quality construction that honours the ceremonial protocols, Indigenous knowledge and long-term purpose of this facility.
- Support the Nation’s goal of creating a gathering place that uplifts culture, language, and community wellness for Tla’amin people and neighbours alike.
Looking Ahead: Community Engagement and Social Initiatives
With the ground-blessing complete and construction now underway, the Dawn Construction team looks forward to working collaboratively with the Tla’amin Nation, design team, and sub-trades to deliver this landmark project. We believe Ɂəms ʔayɛ will become a vibrant hub of connection, learning, and celebration for many generations to come.
As part of our commitment to community enrichment, we are striving to engage as many local sub-trade contractors as possible — including skilled Tla’amin Nation community members — to ensure that the benefits of this project extend well beyond the building itself, strengthening local capacity and creating lasting opportunities.
We wish to extend our gratitude to the Tla’amin Nation for entrusting us with this honoured role. We look forward to sharing progress updates throughout the build and celebrating the opening of this beautiful “Our House” with the community.
“Ɂəms ʔayɛ is going to be a teaching ground and a place to transmit ʔəms taʔaw (our teachings) and to prepare the next generation of Tla’amin people to carry on our sacred responsibilities.”
Enhancing Scheduling Certainty with BIM Tools
Dawn Construction is utilizing BIM tools to bring added precision and confidence to project scheduling and coordination for the Ɂəms ʔayɛ cultural centre. By integrating these digital planning tools into our workflow, we can better visualize sequencing, identify potential conflicts early, and ensure smooth collaboration among all partners and trades.
This proactive approach enhances scheduling certainty, helping us stay on track, optimize resources, and deliver milestones efficiently and safely.
We’ve also prepared a construction simulation video below that illustrates how the build will progress over time, with a schedule overlay highlighting key milestones from groundbreaking through completion.
