Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Society proposes new community hub for Lower Sackville

An empty lot in Lower Sackville, N.S., is the proposed site for a new community hub.

The Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Society has made a proposal to the Halifax Municipal Council for a new community hub to be located on George Street at the site of the former Sackville Centennial Elementary School in Lower Sackville, N.S.

The proposal includes a request to have the land transferred to the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Society. The hub would be open to all members of the community.

In their proposal, the society said they would like to create a gathering place where friendships and social networks are built.

“With the support of the Halifax Regional Municipality we can build better and stronger social infrastructure that will allow for a community to have access to a culturally appropriate programming while building opportunities for the growth of lacrosse,” the society said in their proposal.

The proposal for the Sackville Community Hub includes Indigenous cultural spaces that will co-exist beside health, recreation, daycare and retail facilities.

The Wolves Lacrosse Association will partner with the Indigenous-led project to build the first dedicated lacrosse rink east of Montreal. The Halifax Thunderbirds wrote a letter of support stating they will use the site as their practice and office space.

The society said the hub will address the need for a primary health-care services location to serve the community.

The Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Society is a non-profit organization that opened in 1972. It is one of 126 friendship centres across Canada. The society operates more than 60 programs that expand services to the community.

The Wolves Lacrosse Organization is a not-for-profit organization operated by volunteers to serve communities in the Sackville area, Bedford, Fall River and East Hants. The organization is celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2024.

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