Bilijk Four Pillars Action Plan
Community impact
This project empowers Bilijk Wolastoqey to reclaim its heritage and strengthen community resilience through sustainable food systems and cultural spaces. By centering Indigenous self-determination, the Action Plan ensures that future generations will have the resources and environments needed to nourish their bodies, minds, and spirits.
Client name
Bilijk Wolastoqey (formerly Kingsclear First Nation)
Location
New Brunswick
Project Description
Following the historic $2.8 Billion national settlement for survivors and descendants of residential day schools (also known as the Four Pillars Settlement), Bilijk Wolastoqey sought a strategic path to transform this funding into lasting community wellness, language, culture and heritage. Bilijk required a comprehensive roadmap that would place decision-making squarely in the hands of its members, ensuring that initiatives to restore language, culture, and heritage were defined by the community’s own values and long-term vision.
SOAR facilitated a deeply inclusive engagement process designed to overcome “consultation fatigue” and foster genuine, transparent dialogue. Through community feasts, surveys, and collaborative planning sessions, the team worked alongside Bilijk members to identify and prioritize the “Four Pillars” of their future growth. This partnership resulted in the development of a tailored Action Plan that translates settlement funds into tangible infrastructure and programming, moving from abstract goals to concrete community-led solutions.
The strategic focus of the plan centers on two critical priorities that emerged from the engagement sessions – food security and cultural learning through a trail system. SOAR supported the design of a community-based agricultural initiative rooted in traditional Wolastoqiyik harvesting methods, alongside the development of a safe, accessible trail system. This trail network is designed to serve as a “living classroom,” integrating interpretive signage and traditional teachings to revitalize the Wolastoqey language while promoting physical health and a deeper connection to the land.