From left, Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dominic Frederick, Prince George Mayor Lyn Hall and councillors Garth Frizzell and Frank Everitt – photos 250News

Prince George, B.C. – As work proceeds on the $809,000 pavilion in Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park, both the City of Prince George and the Lheidli T’enneh have indicated discussions are now underway for a mausoleum like structure in the park.

It follows the discovery of eleven human remains and artifacts in the area where the pavilion is currently being constructed.

Lheidli T’enneh and City of Prince George council members confirmed the news today in a hastily called news conference.

“And our primary focus now is to take a look at where the natural resting place will be for these remains,” said Mayor Lyn Hall. “And we have, I will tell you, briefly talked about what that might look like. A mausoleum type building.”

Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dominic Frederick said ideally it would be in the park, “most likely the cemetery.”

The human remains of 11 people have been found at the pavilion site so far

He added the First Nation did consider cancelling the project outright, but ultimately decided it would be best to continue with the archaeological work.

“I think it was important to do that because of the dig, they had to finish it once they started it.”

No exact plans on when work on such a structure would begin though Hall hoped it would happen “sooner rather than later.”

“We’ve had preliminary discussions and I think we’ll wait until we finish the pavilion. We’ll keep talking about it but I don’t think either party wants to wait too long.”

Frederick indicated a mausoleum may provide a good chance to teach non-Aboriginals more about the history of the park.

“This is an historic site and there’s an opportunity for us to show what the history is all about here. So, that’s a really important.”

Construction of the pavilion is expected to wrap up this fall.