Parks Canada to spend $16.5M on Tulita office and cultural centre

A new office and cultural centre for the Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve will be built in Tulita, the federal government announced on Friday.

The building will be paid for through $16.5 million from a Parks Canada national park establishment program.

“This is good for the people. Parks Canada has listened to the Elders and the community about what is important,” Mayor of Tulita Douglas Yallee was quoted as saying in a news release.

“It took time, but this new building shows how we can work together. This is a good day for our community.”

The federal government said Yellowknife-based Northern Industrial Construction had won the construction contract.

An administrative office space will open in the fall of 2026 according to a schedule set out in Friday’s news release, while a cultural centre exhibition is expected to open by the spring of 2027.

“The office and cultural centre will be a place for connection and cultural discovery, provide a space for community members to gather, facilitate meaningful visitor experiences, welcome Mackenzie River paddlers, and to share the rich history of the Sahtu Dene and Métis,” the federal government stated.

“The building will also house Parks Canada’s operational facility, where local staff will work to protect, present and celebrate the natural and cultural heritage of Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve.”

Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve, in the Sahtu near the Yukon border, is in the traditional lands of the Shúhtaot’ine or Mountain Dene.

It was formally established in late 2014 and is cooperatively managed by the Sahtu Dene and Métis of the Tulita District and Parks Canada.

“The park is an important habitat for grizzly bear, Dall sheep, mountain goats, woodland caribou and trumpeter swans,” the federal government stated on Friday. “It is a place where wildlife can thrive and traditional harvesting can continue for future generations.”