As Robina Thomas looks at Coast Salish artwork and carved welcoming figures in the University of Victoria's First Peoples House, she remembers how alone she felt as a UVic student 18 years ago.

But, with the official opening yesterday of the First Peoples House, aboriginal students now have a place to gather in a beautiful cultural home away from home.

"I felt very isolated and alone," said Thomas, a member of the Lyackson First Nation, who is now an associate professor in the School of Social Work and co-leader of the First People's House advisory team.

"It was uncomfortable. People had really stereotypical ideas of what it meant to be an indigenous person," she said.

In 1996, as UVic looked for ways to increase the number of First Nations students and faculty, the idea of a First Peoples House was first raised. After consultations, construction started in 2008.

Completion of the $7-million project, in the high-profile quadrangle area, provides indigenous students with a welcoming learning environment, said Labour Minister Murray Coell.

The province invested $2.6 million in the project.

First Peoples House -- with a ceremonial hall, commercial kitchen, classroom space, reading room overlooking a pond, and an elders' lounge where students can go for advice -- was opened at a ceremony yesterday attended by Lt.-Gov. Steven Point and described by UVic president David Turpin as one of the university's most significant initiatives.

"The First Peoples House provides a welcoming and supportive space for the community and an academic and cultural centre for indigenous students, faculty and staff," Turpin said.

"It will play an important role in linking UVic with the indigenous communities in the years ahead."

Already, the First Nations emphasis is showing results at UVic. The number of indigenous students has increased by more than 700 per cent since 1999, with 800 aboriginal undergraduates and 100 graduate students last year.

The building is designed in Coast Salish style, with rammed-earth walls and cedar-plank exterior. The ceremonial hall has a gas "fire pit" with skylights representing the smoke holes, along with woven cedar walls.

But it provides a place for all indigenous nations to connect, said Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi, director of UVic's Office of Indigenous Affairs.

"Although our indigenous students, staff and faculty are from different nations across the country, we all now have a sense of home, of place and of a stronger connection to the local communities," she said.

Anthropology student Mayana Ambers, of the Namgis First Nation in Alert Bay, said she feels comfortable in the centre.

"It's really quiet and peaceful because campus can be hectic and busy and crazy," she said. "It's important, especially when you have people coming from more remote areas. I do feel a sense of pride in it."

The facility, which has a green roof, natural ventilation and is surrounded by native vegetation, is expected to get Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold-level certification.

jlavoie@tc.canwest.com