A ceremony was held on Wednesday at the Long Plain Madison Reserve to bless the grounds of the new Wyndham Garden Hotel that will take place at the first urban reserve in Winnipeg located on Treaty 1 territory.
Many leaders were present during the ceremony including Long Plain First Nation Chief Dennis Meeches, Manitoba’s Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Kevin Hart and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas.
“To be part of the Wyndham chain is a blessing for the Long Plain First Nation. There is a big need for Indigenous hotels here. I think that this is something that is missing in Manitoba,” said Meeches at the ceremony.
“Economic development has been a big priority at Long Plain First Nation for a long time. We understand that government funding does not cut it. We need to strengthen the Indigenous community and provide opportunities to Indigenous people, especially young people. We need to push hard towards stronger partnerships and to work towards a better standard of living for all people.”
The Wyndham Garden Winnipeg is expected to include a total of 132-guestrooms offering a variety of guestroom sizes and bed configurations appealing to both commercial and leisure guests.
It would also include an indoor pool and waterslide, approximately 5,800-sq.ft. of flexible meeting space and 5,000-sq.ft of retail and office space, a restaurant and lounge offering VLT machines as well as on-site parking for up to 230 vehicles, a sundry marketplace and a snack bar.
“Long Plain has definitely led the way. You can see an example of what they have done with the development of Keeshkeemaquah in Portage la Prairie as well as what we see before us, with the Yellowquill College, Petro Canada and Meta Cannabis Co.,” said Hart.
“It shows us as First Nations, when we participate in economies, how we can prosper. That has been a long-standing issue for us as First Nations. Chief Meeches has shown leadership and the capacity on being able to break down those barriers.”
The new hotel demonstrates that given the opportunity, First Nations are fully able to participate in the economy and bring economic development and benefits to the members of their communities.
During the ceremony, Dumas said that the idea of a new hotel used to only be a dream at one point.
“It was through sheer will and advocacy, as well as the support Chief Meeches had from his community, that he didn’t give up because sometimes, there are obstacles and obstructions around us that are quite large and frustrating. However, here we are today to celebrate and embark on a historic occasion,” he said.
“This moment serves as a template for the rest of us because what works for Long Plain will work for all of us. When Long Plain does well, we all do well. When we all work together collectively, we will all move forward and work better collectively,” he added.
The Canadian government has contributed approximately $1.4 million over the past years to support Long Plain First Nation with their business plans, engineering and architectural designs, construction cost as well as site development.
Nicole Wong covers northern and Indigenous issues for the Winnipeg Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.