For Immediate Release
Traditional Cas Yikh Territory – Smithers, B.C., On February 20, 2025 – The Board of Directors and staff of the Dze L K’ant Housing Society and Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre Society were honoured to attend a tour of the Ken’ulh K’it Yikh housing project currently under construction at 1611 Main Street, Smithers.
The building is funded by the Province, through BC Housing’s Indigenous Housing Fund, and has been carefully designed to meet the needs of Indigenous families, Elders and individuals.
The building is well underway, marking a significant milestone in our commitment to providing quality, safe and affordable housing for our community. During the tour we observed the ongoing construction and were impressed by the dedication and hard work of Yellowridge Construction Ltd and their on-site crew. In keeping with our cultural protocols, we expressed our gratitude by gifting the site supervisor and crew a token of appreciation for their important contributions to this project.
Nox Stikine, Annette Morgan, Executive Director for Dze L K’ant stated: “We are extremely pleased to have a very strong team behind us including Yellowridge Construction Ltd, Studio 9 Architecture + Planning and Lu’ma Development Management.”
Nox Stikine emphasized the vision for the housing, highlighting the inclusion of extra storage and kitchen facilities and spoke about the cultural benefits these features will bring to the families, making the space not only a home but also a nurturing environment that respects and incorporates cultural values.
We are pleased to report that, with support from the Province, through BC Housing, our project stands out for accessibility and cultural safety, with two elevators and an emergency back-up generator. The inclusion of three four-bedroom suites is a remarkable and rare offering to support families and intergenerational living. Each of our units include washers and dryers and large storage options for storing cultural items. The building will be adorned with Indigenous art features and the grounds will be professionally landscaped and will include a culturally inspired children’s playground.
Dze L k’ant’s Vice President, Ne’k (Stanley Namox) shared his heartfelt emotions at seeing the building take shape. “I have happy tears right now,” he said as he spoke about the importance of the work being done to support families in our community. This sentiment resonates deeply with our organization’s mission to provide culturally safe housing and support for those in need.
The Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre Society is committed to fostering strong relationships with our partners and ensuring that our housing initiatives reflect the needs and values of our community. We look forward to the completion of the homes in 2026 and the positive impact it will have on the lives of those we serve.
For more information, please contact:
Lydia Howard , Dze L K’ant Housing Advisor Housing.advisor@dzelkant.com