Marking 20 years
of bold journalism,
reader supported.
Opinion
Indigenous
Health
Urban Planning + Architecture

At Last, a Healing Lodge in the Big City

A welcoming place for First Nations 'out of towners' seeking medical care takes shape in Vancouver.

Joe Wai 6 Jul 2011TheTyee.ca

Architect Joe Wai designed the Healing Lodge, a project by the Vancouver Native Housing Society (VNHS).

Although construction work had begun in December 2010, June 2 was the official ground-breaking for a Healing Lodge on the edge of Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside Oppenheimer District, at 31 West Pender Street.

Squamish Chief Ian Campbell and First Nations elders were on hand to bless the project with traditional ceremonies. This is a unique project by the Vancouver Native Housing Society (VNHS), and it has overcome many impediments to arrive at its current status.

For anyone who has to leave home for another city or country, it is reassuring to have a welcoming place to go to. Such a place offers not only physical shelter, but also an emotional zone that one can enter to ease the anxiety of the unfamiliar.

Many immigrants groups came here and established bases for others who followed from home. About 150 years ago, the Chinese who arrived in British Columbia were seen only as cheap labourers. Not welcomed in the prevailing society, they formed associations that provided shelter for their own people, as well as social activities and companionship.

These were the "Benevolent Association" buildings, which provided sleeping quarters for those who come from the same villages, towns, and even districts. Many associations were even formed for those with the same family name. These institutions provided newcomers with an identity, a spiritual identity of belonging.

By the start of the 20th century over 50 such associations operated in Vancouver. Many of these were also established across Canada, wherever Chinese immigrant labourers ventured. Today, after a century of dramatic social change, these institutions are not as needed as they were before to the Chinese became citizens in 1947. However, they still provide a sense of spiritual identity, a sense of a community.

A healing lodge for First Nations people

For the past 200 years, we have been on First Nations land. We immigrants, Europeans or Asians or Africans, have so occupied this land that First Nations people from different parts of our province feel like strangers in our city. When they come to Vancouver for medical attention, they need a place to stay, a place that is welcoming. The VNHS has been working on the concept of the Healing Lodge for the past 10 years, as well as managing 15 housing projects for urban Aboriginal people.

The concept is to provide a place specifically for "out of towners" awaiting medical treatment. Often such patients must be accompanied by a family member or an able-bodied escort. The accommodations thus need to be sufficiently flexible to accommodate two or more people.

Thirteen units of the lodge were planned with the capability of housing at least 18 people, each with a small kitchenette, living area and bathrooms. A communal cafeteria serving 30 is provided on the ground level.

A smudge room, a lounge and an outdoor sweat lodge area are also provided. The sweat lodge, where participants undergo ceremonial contact with their ancestors, is an important function of the healing process. This is an important and widespread spiritual practice. While the purpose of the Healing Lodge resembles that of the Chinese Benevolent Association buildings, it was not a premeditated concept. Both, however, serve the need for establishing the sense of community in a "strange land."

A considerable number of First Nations artists live in the Downtown Eastside with no outlet in which to display their work. Another component of the project includes a ground-level gallery for this purpose, with a basement workshop for related preparations of their work.

Furthermore, the area under the sidewalk will be refitted with a glass ceiling so that passersby can witness the making of various multi-media art works. This component is a program sponsored by the VNHS in collaboration with the city.

The third component is the replacement of the Single Residential Accommodation (SRA) units previously in this building, which had been vacant for more than five years. The previous accommodations varied from 100 to 140 square feet, with communal washrooms and kitchen only at the end of a long hallway. The 24 new units are 320 square feet, each with an ensuite kitchenette and washroom. This replacement is done in conjunction with the city's housing centre.

The design process

The building was designed in 1913 by architect W.T. Whiteway (who also designed the Sun Tower). It has an elegant late Edwardian-era Classical Revival façade which the city's heritage group wanted kept. It also has a high-quality brick and terracotta finish. At the start of this project in May 2008, BC Housing, the main contributor to the project funding, purchased the property as a part of its restoration program of old DTES hotels.

This was meant to be a renovation. Their engineering consultants concluded, however, that the building was not cost-efficient as a renovation project. The VNHS, as the designated sponsor, then proposed a "new build" with the retention of the heritage façade.

Inconclusive discussions lasted for a year and a half until a federal infrastructure grant was awarded to the project in Oct. 2009 through the efforts of the local MP, Libby Davies, in cooperation with the federal government. However, the federal program had a deadline for completion, so resumption of the work needed cooperation from BC Housing and the City of Vancouver.

There were issues to resolve: the city's urban planners wanted only the heritage façade to be positioned on the Pender Street elevation, while the VNHS thought it was time to have a bold expression of First Nations culture and preferred the "long house" form on top of the building. This concept was derived from our discussions on the importance of an Aboriginal presence in our society today. A "long house" character is appropriate for the intended facilities and as an expression of the presence of the First Nations' character.

After much discussion, the Vancouver Heritage Commission and the city's senior staff supported the VNHS. Therefore, there will be a highly visible long house form on the top levels of the project, including a totem pole that will rise from the ground to the roof, boldly threading the two components.

Another new feature is a courtyard shared with the adjacent VNHS building at 15 feet above the ground. This building, at 27 West Pender Street, for which we were also the architects, was completed for the VNHS in October 2000, with 98 self-contained units of 308 square feet.

This sizable internal courtyard will be accessible from both projects. It is sufficiently wide to comply with the "limiting distance" requirements, but it took considerable negotiation with city permits in order to gain their approval.

Achieving these and other requirements took considerable time. Given the completion deadlines set by the federal program, the VNHS and its team of consultants and construction managers faced a series of challenges.

It appears that the VNHS will complete this multifaceted project on time late this year. Twenty-four self-contained single resident accommodations will be replaced. A much-needed First Nations art gallery and workshop will serve the many urban artists in the DTES.

Most significantly, it will be the first healing lodge completed in Vancouver, thus providing a home away from home for First Nations people awaiting medical treatment in the city. Instead of the more expensive route of scattered hotel rooms on West Broadway, this will be a home with a First Nations identity and a place for healing, physically and spiritually.  [Tyee]

  • Share:

Facts matter. Get The Tyee's in-depth journalism delivered to your inbox for free

Tyee Commenting Guidelines

Comments that violate guidelines risk being deleted, and violations may result in a temporary or permanent user ban. Maintain the spirit of good conversation to stay in the discussion.
*Please note The Tyee is not a forum for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, denying its existence or minimizing its risk to public health.

Do:

  • Be thoughtful about how your words may affect the communities you are addressing. Language matters
  • Challenge arguments, not commenters
  • Flag trolls and guideline violations
  • Treat all with respect and curiosity, learn from differences of opinion
  • Verify facts, debunk rumours, point out logical fallacies
  • Add context and background
  • Note typos and reporting blind spots
  • Stay on topic

Do not:

  • Use sexist, classist, racist, homophobic or transphobic language
  • Ridicule, misgender, bully, threaten, name call, troll or wish harm on others
  • Personally attack authors or contributors
  • Spread misinformation or perpetuate conspiracies
  • Libel, defame or publish falsehoods
  • Attempt to guess other commenters’ real-life identities
  • Post links without providing context

LATEST STORIES

The Barometer

Do You Think Naheed Nenshi Will Win the Alberta NDP Leadership Race?

Take this week's poll