BUSINESS
COVER:
Thomas
King: Canada's Native Writer Tells His Story
BIOGRAPHY:
John
Trudell: Warrior-Poet Waxes on Bone Days
Margaret
Vickers: The Hand of Change
BUSINESS:
Casino
of the Rockies
Historic Milestone for Rambots Construction
CULTURE:
Grizzly
Bears Under the Gun - Again
EDUCATION:
A
Gathering of the Elders
ENVIRONMENT:
Government
of Quebec seeks to Divide Cree Nation and Foster Genocide
HISTORY:
Thomas
Prince: Canada's Forgotten Aboriginal War Hero
HUMOUR:
Bee in the Bonnet: Drum Beaters
POLITICS:
Civic
Aboriginal Leader First to Run for City Hall
Casino
of the Rockies
By Staff Writers
The Ktunaxa
Kimbasket Tribal Council (KKTC), will realize a ten year dream with the
'soft opening' of a $41.6 million world-class destination casino on September
21, at the feet of the majestic Rocky Mountains in the south-eastern Kootenay
region of British Columbia.
"It has been a long and difficult development process, but we kept
focussed and the results speak for themselves. We have transformed a former
Indian residential school and barn into a first class resort," said
Chief Sophie Pierre, administrator of the KKTC.
The four-season destination resort, the Casino of the Rockies, will feature
a hotel, a destination casino and a championship golf course that opened
in May 2000.
Travelers emerge from a long and winding road into the open St. Mary River
Valley where the mission building sits with the snow-capped Rocky mountains
as a backdrop.
The centre-piece of the Casino of the Rockies is the restored St. Eugene
Mission School, that features 25 exclusive suites - each unique to themselves
- above the main floor lobby, reception area and restaurant, of the three-story
mission building.
Each of the suites on the third floor will have a gas fireplace.
The mission building has been totally refurbished with old, orange clay-fired
brick and large 12 ft. beams. It's exterior is made up of hand-made concrete
blocks made to resemble stone.
The resort, owned jointly by the five bands of the KKTC, has adopted a
Gold Rush frontier town theme, in keeping with the historic reality of
the area.
The casino is located just behind the mission building and offers 15 gaming
tables and 225 slot machines in a 12,000 sq. ft. gaming area of the 19,000
sq. ft. building in keeping with the Gold Rush theme of the resort.
The resort is near the Fort Steele Heritage Town, a frontier RCMP outpost
and is made to resemble some of the buildings of that historic site.
The hotel will be run by the Delta Hotels group in a 15-year management
contract and will cater to an upscale clientele, as well as corporate/government
conventions and business seminars.
Adjacent to the Mission building is the new Kootenay Lodge that will accommodate
another 100 rooms and is built to resemble the mission building. Other
buildings on the site are being converted and will be joined by connecting
corridors.
There are also convention facilities in six meeting rooms with a capacity
of up to 470 guests complete with an audio-visual/teleconferencing room.
There is a 105-seat grillroom, a lounge, a library lounge and billiard
room.
The resort also features a recreation centre, a teepee camp in the summer
that provides a genuine native experience and an arts and crafts co-op.
There is a patio where guests can view of a stylized orchard of flowering
crabapple trees in the courtyard below.
The Casino of the Rockies will employ approximately 120 people with an
annual payroll in excess of $3 million, with another 80 permanent and
seasonal staff at the golf course.
The St. Eugene Golf Course was awarded the third best new Canadian course
by the prestigious Golf Digest magazine. Its central location in the BC
Rockies, at a short driving distance to 21 other golf courses and five
ski hills makes the area the golf mecca of western Canada.
The St. Eugene Mission Resort is the largest and most refined aboriginal
projects currently being developed in western Canada. It includes private
investors, commercial banks and governments.
The bands will share the revenue with the provincial government in the
form of Development Assistance Compensation and Host Local Government
Financial Assistance.
The bands will also accrue significant financial benefit in terms of employment
and cash.
A Recreation Complex will open in December 2002 and in May 2003, a Ktunaxa
Interpretive Centre will open to provide guided tours and insight into
Ktunaxa culture through storytelling and cultural interpretation programs.
"Over the next several months, other components of our resort will
be opening. We're very proud of the positive impact our resort will have
on the economy of the BC Rockies," said Pierre.
The 'hard' or official opening will take place in November 2002.