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Lower Kootenay Band completes memorial park and opens to the public

Kulilu Garden, meaning butterfly in Ktunaxa, features a beautifully constructed gazebo
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Lower Kootenay Band staff members Sandy Wayling, Nasukin Jason Louie, Lindsay Floer, and Heather Suttie pose with the finished gazebo. (Photo by Kelsey Yates)

The Lower Kootenay Band has officially completed a new memorial park, called Kulilu Garden.

Nasukin Jason Louie wanted to transform an acre of land that had been sitting empty for over 20 years and turn it into a community space.

Earlier this year, construction began on the park’s centerpiece - a gazebo, with elements of a traditional Ktunaxa roundhouse. Every aspect of Kulilu Garden, which means butterfly in the Ktunaxa language, is an acknowledgement of their culture, from the five mounds of earth representing the Yaqan Nukiy families, to the native shrub and flower species that were planted. For instance, juniper was traditionally used for smudging in sweat lodges.

The inside of the gazebo. (Photo by Kelsey Yates)
The inside of the gazebo. (Photo by Kelsey Yates)

At a ceremony on Oct. 22, Louie unveiled a dedicated plaque at the base of the new gazebo and read the names of eight children who died between the 1940s and 60s during outbreaks of tuberculosis and polio.

“We thought it was appropriate to pay tribute to the children,” said Louie.

“We wanted to create something beautiful to show that we remember them.”

The project cost approximately $30,000, with generous help from the community.

Louie thanked donors BC HYdro, Wild North Brewing, Sanctuary Lavender Farm, Golden Flour Bakery, Ladybug Coffee, Columbia Power, and a generous anonymous donor.

He also mentioned the LKB staff members and other participants who made the garden possible, including operations manager Ken White, leadership assistant Lindsey Floer, landscaper Melissa Flint, Josie Fullarton, Daniel Huscroft from Lindcroft Custom Dwellings, and manager Jess Stacey-Sokulski of Morris Flowers Garden Center. Thanks was also given to the LKB maintenance crew for helping with labour.

A group of Grade 7 students from Adam Robertson Elementary School also helped with planting the shrubs and flowers in the spring. Then throughout the summer, two LKB youths took on the summer job of weeding and watering the garden.

“We wanted to create this space as a peaceful place,” he said.

“It’s open to the community and general public to come for a picnic, or for our alcohol and drug counselor to use as a space to sit with people.”

Kulilu Garden will be an ongoing project, with future plans to put in fencing to deter deer from eating the plants.

Native perennial flower and shrub species were planted around the gazebo. (Photo by Kelsey Yates)
Native perennial flower and shrub species were planted around the gazebo. (Photo by Kelsey Yates)

READ MORE: Lower Kootenay Band develops plan for new memorial park



Kelsey Yates

About the Author: Kelsey Yates

Kelsey Yates has had a lifelong passion for newspapers and storytelling. Originally from Alberta, she graduated from SAIT Polytechnic's journalism program in 2016.
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