Gas bar slated to become first business at Naawi-Oodena, 2 decades after Kapyong Barracks closure

A filling station will be the first construction project in Winnipeg's Naawi-Oodena development, an infill project slated to become Canada's largest Indigenous urban economic zone.

The leaders of seven Treaty 1 First Nations held a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday morning near the northeastern corner of Taylor Avenue and Kenaston Boulevard, where construction is slated to begin over the winter on the first parcel of land in Naawi-Oodena, Anishinaabemowin for centre of the heart and community.

The first business slated for the site is Oodena Gas Bar, which is expected to open in the summer of 2024. That will mark 20 years since the closure of Kapyong barracks, which once occupied the 65-hectare swath of Tuxedo and River Heights.

"This is just the beginning," said Chief Gordon Bluesky of Brokenhead First Nation, referring to the phased buildout of 1.2 million square feet of commercial space and approximately 3,000 residential units, expected to unfold over the next 10 to 15 years.

"This has been long overdue for our people to take our rightful place. We have always been economic people."

Brokenhead and six other First Nations Long Plain, Peguis, Roseau River, Sagkeeng,Sandy Bay and Swan Lake acquired approximately two thirds of the former Kapyong site in 2019following a protracted dispute with the federal government.

The Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation, owns the remaining third of the land. Canada Lands and the Treaty 1 nations are now partners in developing Naawi-Oodena.

Economic development is the future for Anishinaabe people,said E.J. Fontaine, chief of Sagkeeng First Nation.

"We can't keep on depending on government to give us the tools and the resources we need to develop," he said. "We need to develop them on our own."

Other political leaders took part in the ceremony. Winnipeg South Centre MP Ben Carr said future generations of Winnipeggers will drive down Kenaston Boulevard and see economic reconciliation in action.

"The land has been returned into the hands of its rightful caretakers," Carr said.

"When you hear a land acknowledgment here in the city that acknowledges Treaty 1, encourage people to think about this," said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, referring to Naawi-Oodena.

The premier announced a cabinet order to relinquish any future Crown claims to the Treaty 1 component of the Naawi-Oodena site. He also urged Treaty 1 leaders to find a way to continue to honour the memory of Canadian troops who fought at the Battle of Kapyong during the Korean War, including Sgt. Tommy Prince, a decorated Indigenous soldier.

Mayor Scott Gillingham noted Winnipeg city council gave the new name Kapyong Park to a smallpark on Ness Avenue in St. James. The mayor said all Canadians will look to Naawi-Oodena as a model of reconciliation in the future.

Gillingham also said Winnipeg must now work with Treaty 1 nations to complete land-acquisition talks that will pave the way for the widening of Kenaston Boulevard.

Treaty 1 left a strip of land alongside Kenaston outside of its urban economic zone so it can be leased or sold to the city without further land-ownership complications.

"The sod-turning today and the almost immediate development of the first phase of Naawi-Oodenawill put a bit of pressure,hopefully, on both sides to come to some sort of agreement or resolution, whether it's a purchase or a lease," Gillingham said following the ceremony.

The Naawi-Oodena site has been vacant since 2004, when the Kapyong barracks closed. The federalgovernment initiallytriedto sell the landin 2008, butTreaty 1 nations challenged the sale, arguing they had theright to acquire the land under outstanding treaty land entitlement claims.

In 2015, a judge ruled that thegovernment hadfailed to adequately consultwith the First Nations over the sale, and the land transfer was ruled illegitimate. The federal governmenteventually stopped fighting that decisionandtheland transfer to Treaty 1 First Nationswas made officialin 2019.

A master plan for the site was published in 2021. A more specific planning frameworkfor the Canada Lands portion of Naawi-Oodena was published Friday and faces city council approval over the coming weeks.

Treaty 1 nations have the jurisdiction to approve the planning framework for the portion of the land they own.

WATCH | Breaking ground on what could be Canada's largest Indigenous urban economic zone:

'It's the heart of our people, it's the heart in Winnipeg and it's in the heart of our province'

11 months ago

Duration 1:28

The leaders of seven Treaty 1 First Nations held a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday morning near the northeastern corner of Taylor Avenue and Kenaston Boulevard, where construction is slated to begin over the winter on the first parcel of land in Naawi-Oodena, Anishinaabemowin for centre of the heart and community.