Louis Bull Tribe, one of the Four Nations of Maskwacis, celebrated the upcoming grand opening of its Bear Hills Casino and Travel Resort with a media event on March 6.
The casino, located north of the Wetaskiwin Rest Centre just off of Highway 2, is a dream come true for the First Nation’s leadership and elders — one that was three decades in the making.
Set to open in spring, 2024, the 30,000 square feet casino will include 200 slot machines, 10 table games, a lounge and live entertainment, and offer washrooms and a gas station.
Chief Desmond Bull said he first heard about the idea of a casino for the Nation when he was a teenager 30 years ago.
“This is one giant step we’ve worked so diligently hard for,” said Bull, adding the Nation welcomes the future prosperity the casino and future phases of the land development project will bring to Louis Bull Tribe.
The casino is only the beginning of a five-phased land development plan.
Future phases, projected to be completed in a couple of years, will include a market place, food kiosks and a quick-serve drive-thru and a covered outdoor performance area.
“We’re providing important services for highway travellers,” said Bear Hills casino CEO and president Gordon Rauscher, in an interview before the press conference began.
He added there is a 125 kilometre stretch between Leduc and Lacombe with no services visible from the QEII.
“This is a development that will benefit the whole Wetaskiwin-Maskwacis region.”
The first phase of the land development project, the casino and gas bar, is expected to open in May, 2024, weather dependent, he said.
The paving work on the parking lot will have to wait until spring thaw.
The revenue from the development will allow the Louis Bull Tribe to be self-sufficient and “practice their own sovereignty so they won’t have to advocate so hard for programming and funding,” said Bull.
Bull said the “mini village” would become a “linchpin” and “anchor” for the area, and allow the Nation to showcase their community through potential future developments such as a rodeo and powwow grounds, or possibly an interpretive centre at the rest stop.
While the idea for a casino had been “kicking around” for at least 30 years, the current push that led to the realization of the project began in 2016, said Rauscher.
The First Nation has owned the land since the 1980s, operating a truck stop that was also owned and operated by the First Nation.
However, the land was designated as ‘free hold.’ In order to be designated as a First Nation host casino, the building had to be on reserve land.
“The biggest key factor was the conversion to reserve land,” said Rauscher.
Because the casino is on reserve land, it is able to have a smoking section.
To accommodate both smokers and non-smokers comfortably, there is a separate smoking entrance and area for gaming for smokers, with increased HVAC and double doors to separate it from the rest of the building, Rauscher explained.
The casino will also have 24-hour security and first aid services that will serve the whole development area, he added.
According to Erika Bull-Giroux, Louis Bull director of socio-economic development and casino board member, another obstacle was remediating (environmentally restoring) the soil after it had been used for a gas station. The COVID-19 pandemic caused another delay.
A ground breaking ceremony was held in October, 2022, and construction on the site began in spring, 2023, said Bull-Giroux.
As the casino will include shift work, there are job opportunities for parents or others needing an accommodating schedule, said Bull-Giroux.
Bear Hills will begin hiring within the next couple of weeks. Applications will be open to anyone willing and prepared to work, and isn’t limited to First Nations, she said.
The first phase of the project is expected to employ 80 staff, with half full-time and half part-time positions.
Benefits will be available for full-time employees, said Bull-Giroux.
Wetaskiwin-Maskwacis MLA and Minister of Indigenous Relations Rick Wilson said the provincial government provided a total of $750,000 in grant funding to support the development.
Wilson’s office has spearheaded the creation of a few streams of revenue to promote Indigenous economic development, including the Aboriginal Business Investment Fund.
As First Nations aren’t able to use anything on reserve as collateral, it’s harder for them to receive bank loans for capital to start businesses, Wilson explained.
“This (development) is going to be a landmark in my constituency,” he said during the press event.
Wilson said the government and the First Nation are “partners in prosperity,” and the development will benefit the whole corridor, from providing jobs — not just to Indigenous people, but area farmers as well — to providing services to travellers.
Representatives from Indigenous Services Canada, partners with Louis Bull since the beginning of the project, were also present.
Kandice Machado, CEO, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, also gave a few words, commending the Nation for their “remarkable achievement.”
Machado noted the casino would be a place for gaming for legal-aged Albertans, but also a place for entertainment and cultural events.
“It’s about so much more than the casino for everyone,” said Bull-Giroux during her address.
The past chief Peter Bull “had the vision of what economic development could look like for our Nation,” said Bull-Giroux, adding the space they were all standing in now was once just a dream.
“I’m especially proud to say this space is 100 per cent owned by Louis Bull Tribe.”
To the Nation, the casino means jobs, meaningful careers for their youth, and the ability to create their own independence and become self-sustaining, to fund their own social programming, said Bull-Giroux.
She added the project will allow the tribe to know “what it means to thrive.”
“Our future is bright and it’s just beginning,” said Bull-Giroux.
“Economic reconciliation is economic in partnership between First Nations and outside communities. This jewel along the QEII will be a grand example in Alberta of economic reconciliation,” said Rauscher.
Louis Bull Tribe encompasses 3,127 hectares, and is bordered by the Ermineskin Cree Nation, the County of Wetaskiwin No. 10, and the County of Ponoka in Central Alberta.
For more information about the Bear Hills Casino and Travel Resort, visit bearhillscasino.com.