Rising costs push back opening of Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre by another year

A northern Nova Scotia museum that will house Mi'kmaw artifacts has had its opening pushed back a year, as the project has faced escalating costs and had to strip back its design.

Tim Bernard, director of the Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre in Debert, N.S., said the cost of building the museum increased from $38 million to $55 million.

"And so over the last year we've been looking for ways … to bring the cost down," said Bernard.

He said while the original concept had four galleries, they dropped one to save money. Now, the project is expected to cost around $48 million.

The higher price tag also means officials need to raise another $12 million for the project.

Originally slated to open in 2025, that was later pushed back to 2027. Bernard said the centre should be ready by spring 2028, with a public opening scheduled for fall.

He said more than 500 of the artifacts that will be displayed are currently housed at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington. The artifacts include quilts, baskets, garments and even two complete wigwams.

Bernard said Mi'kmawey Debert has been collaborating with the Washington museum since the late 1990s, at first to help identify archival photographs taken in the 1900s.

Then, teams of beaders, quillers and basketmakers started routinely travelling to the museum to help maintain the collection.

Jocelyn Marshall, a beader from Membertou First Nation, has visited the museum to help. She said she was overwhelmed with pride, joy and nostalgia.

"We're seeing these artifacts for the first time in a long time, and this is the first time a lot of them are being held and taken out," she said. "My grandmothers, who were both beaders, I wish they were around to see all of these artifacts coming home."

They also worked with a Smithsonian lab to identify the species of the feathers on several pieces.

Marshall and Nik Phillips, a beader from Millbrook First Nation, repaired over 200 pieces, some of them over 100 years old. Marshall said most repairs were minimal.

"They did care very, very well for them," she said. "A lot of the pieces are still very immaculate."

Caitlin Mahony, conservator of the National Museum of the American Indian, said most of the belongings were donated from the collections of two anthropologists, Frederick Johnson and Wilson Wallis.

While there are purchase records for some artifacts, she said the circumstances behind the purchases are unknown.

"There are some purchase records that we have that we've shared with the cultural centre," said Mahony. "On what that exchange was, certainly not the standards of today."

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