Long Plain First Nation’s former Chief Dennis Meeches and Council came to Arrowhead Development Corporation, PCL Constructors Canada and f-BLOK architecture with a vision for a hotel that would bring forward opportunities of economic development for the community. Today, the Odé Aki Wyndham Garden Hotel is the first First Nations hotel in Winnipeg, MB, and across Canada. The hotel is a 132-room, four-storey hotel complete with a pool, hot tub, banquet area and sheltered space for a kitchen, bar/dining area and retail space. Signage throughout the hotel is written in Ojibwe; meanwhile, the building itself, and the paintings hung on its walls, are inspired by and created to represent Long Plain First Nation.  

During this project, PCL’s project team collaborated with Arrowhead Development Corporation to provide employment and business opportunities to Long Plain First Nation members and Winnipeg’s urban Indigenous population at-large. PCL set an internal target of 15% of direct employment, aligning with the City of Winnipeg’s per capita Indigenous population. Despite Long Plain First Nation members making up a very small percentage of the overall Indigenous population in our city, PCL achieved 20% of direct employment over the course of the project - including labourers, carpenters, administrative and coordination roles.