Artist’s Rendering of
Building (Credit: Red Lake Nation)

Red Lake recently broke ground on a new intergenerational service building that will help provide families through a variety of coordinated services.

The ceremony for Ombimindwaa Gidanawemaaganinaadog took place on May 10th at around noon. Ombimindwaa Gidanawemaaganinaadog in English means “uplifting our relatives,” and was formerly known as Children and Family Services.

Several visitors joined the groundbreaking ceremony, including architects, county social workers, community members, tribal staff, and members from the Red Lake Tribal Council.

“Chi Miigwech to Cheri Goodwin and her staff…all the ones behind the scenes…for doing what you have to do to get this building going, and all of you, and the whole tribal council said,” Tribal Chairman Darrell G. Seki, Sr. “Working together we create many opportunities for you, our tribal members, of the great Red Lake Nation.”

The Ombimindwaa programs will offer a variety of intergenerational family wellness healing resources, services, teachings and connections. Some of these programs include child welfare, ICWA, behavioral/mental health services, public health, elderly nutrition, children’s healing center, and much more.

The building itself will have two stories with rooftop access, and will feature state of the art tech. There will also be a drive-up / drop-off awning, which is said to be the largest Memengwa (butterfly) ever seen. The butterfly is said to “grace the front of the building” similar to the bald eagle theme located at the Red Lake college and tribal headquarters.

The first floor of the building will house services such as public health, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. This floor will also provide handicap access tubs for use by those who may need them, and it will also have a lift for family and staff that need help getting in and out of the whirlpool bath.

Visitors can also expect a beauty shop and a dental hygienist that will be on staff for cleaning teeth for all age groups. There will also be an exercise room with a wet/dry sauna, small bedroom apartment, swimmer therapy pool, a circular culture room, as well as large TV, video, and tech screens that will feature stories on culture, history, and more.

On the second floor of the building there will be meeting rooms and staff offices. The work stations will have glass dividers in order to keep staff safe, as safety protocols to the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

The rooftop will have child proof railings along side the public part of the rooftop access, and the north side of the rooftop will face towards the lake. The middle section of the rooftop will hold what is called the “penthouse” or mechanical room, and lastly, the south side of the rooftop will hold an array of solar panels for heat and electricity.

There will be plugins for electric vehicles for four Tesla vehicles that were secured through a grant written by Solar Bear, which is Red Lake’s contractor for the solar installations on the reservation.

The estimated completion for this new service building is set for July 2023.

By — Emma Hudziak