- Opened
- 28 May 2005
- Land
- Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Reserve, at Scanterbury on Highway 59
- Owners
- Black River, Bloodvein, Brokenhead, Hollow Water, Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi and Poplar River First Nations
- Tribal council
- The seven nations make up the Southeast Resource Development Council (Wikipedia)
- Treaty
- Brokenhead Ojibway Nation is a signatory to Treaty 1 (Wikipedia)
Notes on the history
- 1871
The Province of Manitoba's own history of Grand Beach notes that treaties between Canada and local First Nations established reserves at Fort Alexander and Brokenhead in 1871.
- Before 2005
According to Wikipedia, the seven nations sought a loan to build the casino and resort, the project was seen as high-risk, and one company, Hemisphere, agreed to fund and help build it. This is a secondary source; I found no first-hand account on the resort's own site.
- May 2005
The resort's careers page puts it in the first person: "In May of 2005, we opened the doors of South Beach Casino in Brokenhead." It describes the aim as economic growth and jobs for the surrounding communities.
- Today
Wikipedia describes South Beach as one of three First Nation-owned casinos in Manitoba.
Brokenhead Ojibway Nation
Wikipedia describes Brokenhead 4 as the nation's main reserve, about 54 km² surrounded by the Rural Municipality of St. Clements and reaching north to a short stretch of Lake Winnipeg shore. It contains the settlement of Scanterbury, and with it the resort. The same entry places Winnipeg to the south along Highway 59, and Grand Beach, Patricia Beach and Victoria Beach to the north on the same road.
Why this belongs in a travel guide
Because it changes how you read the place. The resort describes its purpose as economic growth and jobs for the surrounding communities, and says it gives back to them and to other charitable organisations. When you visit, you are a guest on reserve land. That is worth knowing before you arrive, and it costs nothing to remember.
I am not affiliated with the resort, the seven nations or the tribal council, and I have kept this page to what published sources say.