Critical development agreement reached between Winnipeg and Treaty 1 Nations

A 160-acre piece of land in Winnipeg that has sat under-developed for close to two decades is one step closer to a new, and vibrant future.

An agreement between the City of Winnipeg and the Treaty One Nations could see the largest Urban reserve in Canada developed on these lands.

“This is generational, I’m not going to see something like this for a long time. I do hope that this spurs the creation of more urban reserves, but in terms of how large and how meaningful this is to all of the Treaty One First Nations, this is big,” said Michael Jack, CAO

The city announced Wednesday that, once council gives its final approval, they will be providing municipal services to the site that once housed the Canadian military’s Kaypong Barracks, now called the Naawi-Oodena site.

Jack calls the agreement “a critical step in meaningful government-to-government” collaboration.

“We’ve really built, I think, a lot of trust, a lot of confidence in each other, a lot of mutual respect through this process, so really the sky’s the limit as to what comes next after this.”

The Treaty One Nations have developed an extensive master plan that will see a mixed-use community, including commercial villages, residential areas, alongside a cultural campus celebrating the Indigenous heritage and recreational spaces.

Treaty One spokesperson and Chief of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Gordon BlueSky called the agreement monumental.

“It’s a great era. It’s a great time that we’re living in to actually see this unfold, and for our children to actually see this unfold as well,” explained Chief BlueSky.

He says what’s happening in Winnipeg should be embraced, as municipalities need to do a better job removing obstacles to Indigenous growth and partnership.

“And it’s unfortunate, because in most cases across the country, if not all cases, Urban First Nation Economic development has only benefited the local economy, the residents in the area and for me, it’s quite a step forward and it’s a big check mark, and a big feather in the cap of the City of Winnipeg to show how Reconciliation in action actually looks and feels for our community.”

The news is welcome to Charleswood, Tuxedo and Westwood City Councillor Kevin Klein.

“I applaud the designs that I have seen, as I said, I’ve been involved in the discussions with many of the First Nations on what they’d like to see and I’ve been pushing them to see more economic Indigenous, economic zones in our city. and to have that as an added, vibrant community and to see all of the people coming together around the development of that area, that’ll be fantastic, and it’s long overdue,” said Klein.

He’s looking forward to receiving more information, as he decides how he’ll be voting on the proposed agreement.

“It’s hard for me to be 100 per cent supportive of it until I read it and see what it means, not just for my residents, but for the city of Winnipeg, and really what are the challenges and the opportunities and have we addressed all of those.”

At his final state of the city address, Mayor Brian Bowman said he’d like to see the project move forward before his term is up. The agreement is on the agenda for the Executive Policy Committee meeting on June 15.