Building Friendship theme of High Level awareness

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HIGH LEVEL - "Building Friendship" is the theme the High Level Native Friendship Centre Society (HLNFCS) is using for its awareness program for its proposed new building.

At a fund-raising dinner hosted by the society February 13, Denzil Lobo of Weed/Lobo Architects, presented the plans for the 8,100 square foot building.

He said the two-story building will be divided into three main zones, public, semi-private and private.

The public area will be located on the main floor. Lobo said this will be an open area to allow for easy traffic flow inviting people to wander around. In the area, local arts and crafts, will be on display.

Emphasizing the feeling of openness, there will be an open staircase under the sky light. The staircase will lead to the second of the main zones of the building.

The semi-private area will contain two conference rooms and a board room. There will also be a cultural library which Lobo says he visualizes as the focus of the building. It will be glass enclosed and will display many aspects of the Native heritage from this region.

The third zone will be completely private and will house two offices for the administrators of the friendship centre. There will also be cubicles for counseling purposes.

The appearance of the building will reflect the use of materials which "are Native to this region," Lobo said. "We were determined not to bring in steel and concrete, but wanted to use wood to express the ideals of traditional construction in keeping with the ideals of the friendship centre."

Lobo said the designs for the building were completed very quickly, partly because of grant application deadlines, but mostly because the members of the society had such a clear idea of what the centre should contain.

The services for the centre should provide were determined by a needs survey conducted by the HLNFCS in August of 1985.

Lobo also praised the society for its aggressiveness in pursuit of funding for the building. The society has applied for funding on both federal and provincial levels. They have applied for funding through the Secretary of State. If that grant is approved the High Level Native Friendship Centre will become the first of the friendship centres "to be recognized by Ottawa for (this type) of funding. That in itself says something," about the amount of effort the society has done, Lobo said.

The cost of the building will be $557,000. If all of the grant applications are approved, they will cover 65 percent of the costs. The society has $60,000. It is hoped the remaining $150,000 will be raised through local contributions.

Lobo outlined the plans for the local fund-raising campaign which will operate on a three-tier basis.

The first level allows for a $50 "symbolic gesture of friendship with the centre." Any individual contributing at this level will have his name inscribed on a circular wall in the main foyer of the new building.

The second tier was designed for small business. For a company contribution, a plaque will be placed in the foyer.

Large corporations have the option of sponsoring an entire area in the building. Lobo said four such areas have been identified. The areas are an arts and crafts room, a multi-purpose room, a children's area and the cultural library."

Past president of the HLNFCS, Leona Shandruk, filled in the background of the centres history in High Level.

"The concept and ultimate founding of a Friendship Centre in High Level had its earliest beginnings in February, 1975," she said.

Eight Native women formed a local chapter of the Alberta Native Women's Society (VANWS). Following meetings with representatives from the community and from the surrounding reserves, these ladies submitted a request for $8,000 to Preventive Social Services to start a referral/drop-in centre. The VANWS/Northern Lights Wigwam officially opened in June of 1976.

In 1978, the VANWS joined with another local group, Participants in Community Life to form the Kikino cetre. The High Level Native Friendship Centre was incorporated as a separate society in 1982.

The centre now employs three full-time staff members and has a paid membership of more than 200.

It was determined through the needs assessment that the new facility will not only enable the HLNFCS to expand its own programming, but it will also meet the needs of the larger community such as the demand for meeting space within High Level.

It is planned to have the building completed by October of 1986.