Indigenous Heritage Project Takes Off at Prince George Airport

Prince George, BC — The Lheidli T’enneh First Nation (LTFN), the Prince George Airport Authority (PGAA), and Tourism Prince George (TPG) today celebrated the launch of a new Indigenous Heritage Project at YXS. The launch included raising an LTFN flag to fly permanently outside the main terminal and acknowledgement of a new 4-panel LTFN history display inside the terminal. These projects are part of Phase 1 of a longer-term Indigenous Heritage Project for YXS, with support from Tourism Prince George, and build on the Collaboration Agreement between LTFN and PGAA signed in Feb 2023.

LTFN Chief Dolleen Logan said “This is reconcili-action and we are delighted to celebrate this Indigenous Heritage Project with our partners PGAA and TPG. It is one thing to have partnership agreements but if they never result in positive actions and progressive change what good are they? This project shows what can be done when three partners work together on the Road to Reconciliation. Our nation has welcomed travellers for thousands of years. Our main village of Lheidli and now our home community of Prince George is known as the Gathering Place. Now thanks to Tourism Prince George and the Prince George Airport Authority over a million people who frequent YXS will have an opportunity to learn more about our history and that of our surrounding First Nations partners.”

PGAA President and CEO Gordon Duke stated “Last year, we celebrated the signing of our Collaboration Agreement with our Host First Nation, the Lheidli T’enneh. We wanted to ensure we put a plan into action and we felt a project to introduce Lheidli T’enneh and Indigenous History from the region is a good first step. Here we are today just a year after signing our Collaboration Agreement and we have much to show for it. I agree completely with Chief Logan. We can talk for years about what reconciliation looks like or we can do what LTFN, Tourism PG and our PGAA team are doing: putting words into action. I can’t wait to witness the outcomes of the Indigenous Heritage Project, in the short-term and beyond, at YXS.”

TPG CEO Colin Carson adds “We were thrilled to learn about the signing of the Collaboration Agreement last year between LTFN and PGAA. Our first thought was ‘How can we help?’ Our team contacted the YXS team and LTFN, and last Fall planning for Phase 1 of the Indigenous Heritage Project at YXS started. What you see here at YXS today is the result of this multi-party collaboration and we couldn’t be happier. Domestic and international travellers have shown increasing interest in wanting to better understand the culture of our First Nations, the Lheidli T’enneh, and Truth and Reconciliation. Phase 1 of this project looks toward both historical acknowledgment and active reconciliation. By raising the Lheidli T’enneh flag, we recognize the Nation’s unceded ancestral lands where YXS stands today and signal a step forward in honouring LFTN’s history and future.”