The Coast Salish Longhouse inspired First People’s House at the University of Victoria serves as a home away from home for students on campus. It is a safe and welcoming space to encourage the building of indigenous communities at the university, and to create a community for students to learn and share. To acknowledge the teachings of our ancestors, one must enter the House with a good mind and good heart.

The First Peoples House is a LEED® Gold certified building , meaning it emphasizes sustainable objectives like natural ventilation and highly efficient earth tube pre-heating/cooling systems.

The building uses minimal irrigation and is surrounded by a permaculture low maintenance Indigenous Garden. The angled planted roof reduces storm water runoff by creating a cascading waterfall effect into a stormwater retention pond.

One of the key unique features of this building are the curated cedar carvings handmade by Indigenous artists. The 4 sets of carvings in the Ceremonial Hall represent four different tribal areas as you move south to north. They are hand sandblasted red cedar, set into a cedar beam from an original design.