SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Chief Ed Sangris said Dettah has emerged from the shadow of Yellowknife thanks to a brand new facility, the Chief Drygeese Government Building and Conference Centre, which had its official opening on Monday night.

Together they are strong: The centre pillar in the new Chief Drygeese Government Building and Conference Centre, made up of many large pieces of timber, illustrates the idea of working together to achieve great things. - Charlotte Hilling/NNSL photo

The $3.4 million building, which is big enough to house a 450-person conference, was the result of a partnership between the federal government, the territorial government, Yellowknives Dene First Nations, and several members of industry.

"As First Nations we strive to better ourselves, and one of the ways of doing this is to work with all levels of government," said Chief Ed Sangris.

The evening was kicked off with an opening prayer and fire feeding ceremony, followed by a ribbon cutting, speeches, dinner, and finally drumming, handgames and drum dancing.

"I'm really pleased with this building; it took three years," elder Isadore Tsetta said through interpreter Burna Martin.

"This building is being built for the community, chief and council, and the youth to use. To be able to accomplish something like this we needed the support of one another to get things done, and voice your opinion to get what you want."

"This is a new building and I hope this building will last for a long time," he said.

Elder Judith Charlo said the building will bring the Dene people together.

"Because the chiefs are here, and the children are here, all the people around can come and stay here together at Christmas time and Easter time," she said.

Jackson Lafferty, minister of Education, Culture and Employment, said the new facility will mean community members will have more access to education opportunities.

"They truly deserve these kinds of buildings," he said. "They're just on the outskirts of Yellowknife and now they can fully utilize the training opportunities the facility will provide, and we will participate in any training that they want to deliver," he said.

The building was named after three Drygeese chiefs who played a pivotal role in Dene treaty negotiations, most notably Chief Imii Drygeese who signed Treaty 8 in 1900.

Architect for the project, Mike Hilchey of Arctic Canada Construction, said he is thrilled with the response from the community and the respect the new facility garnered.

"While we built this building I can honestly say that we had no vandalism at all, and in the construction industry that doesn't happen very often," he said.

He echoed the ideas expressed throughout the night of working together, and drew reference from the building itself.

"I think it can be representative of what can happen when a whole bunch of people and bodies and organization can come together. That column (in the middle of the community hall) is made up of lots of small pieces of lumber, which on their own aren't very strong. But if you bring them together at one time and one place, with the same vision, then it can hold up this whole roof," he said.

Hilchey came on board with the project about four years ago and together with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation council, they settled on a design.

"They wanted a unique building that spoke to the community, rather than the traditional square box building you see in the territories," he said.

The building is inspired by Dene bead work, which is often in the shape of a rose.

The flower motif runs throughout complex, with rose patterns on the floors of all the building's levels.

Hilchey said the freedom he had when designing and building was unusual but welcome.

"Once we started building this I was left to make the decisions. They trusted me and let me build the vision," he said.

He said energy efficiency was key in the design, with window sizes kept to a minimum, and the circular shape of the building being the most energy efficient shape.