“It’s always fun to watch the tribe progress,” Tribal Chairman Jamie Azure said. “It’s nice that we’re able to leave these new opportunities for the next leaders that are coming after us.”

Having built a recovery center and equine center in recent years, the tribe will complete construction this summer on a massive powwow facility and a new roundhouse that will serve as a cultural center. Construction of a lighted walking path from Belcourt to SkyDancer Casino and Resort is set to begin.

Azure is pushing for a gardens project that he’s had on his list for eight years.

“This spring, we are, one way or another, moving forward with it,” he said.

The logo for the new roundhouse cultural center in Belcourt.

Azure wants to redevelop contaminated land that was abated through the Environmental Protection Agency. The former housing property has roads and water infrastructure. With some cleanup and additional soil, it could host a community gardens project, Azure said. Among the gardens he envisions greenhouses and recreational facilities such as a soccer field and baseball diamond.

Azure said the tribe also has purchased a considerable amount of land with the intention of developing homes for tribal members to purchase. There are tribal members living in rental housing because there aren’t homes or land to acquire, he said. Having homes for sale would ease the long rental housing waiting list, he said.

“It’s a trickle down effect,” Azure said. “If we give the opportunity of home ownership to people that could easily afford it and want it, that opens up so much for other people that can’t quite get to this spot yet.”

The tribe recently opened a 24-unit veterans housing complex that includes a community center, offices for government assistance agencies and the capability to offer telemedicine. The tribe also recently opened two new complexes to provide 52 apartment units for families.

The tribe is in discussion with its Recovery Center and housing authority to set up transitional housing for sober living, not only in Belcourt but in cities such as Minot and Grand Forks, where tribal members may choose to live.

JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Turtle Mountain tribal tourism consultant Les Thomas, left, and Turtle Mountain Heritage Center director/curator Danielle Wilkie, right, stand next to a taxidermy of a white buffalo calf, which was added to the Heritage Center’s collection in March. The calf fell victim to trampling during a relocation of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe’s buffalo herd.

A movie theater and bowling alley are planned for 2027 construction to complement the water park and trampoline park that were built in an earlier construction phase. The projects are part of a strategic plan that came out of a summit at which young people identified the need for better job opportunities.

“What we ended up doing was raising our minimum wage through the tribe up to $15 an hour, and these young adults that are working at our Turtle Island Adventure Park systems can then get 401K after six months and insurance,” Azure said.

However, these are meant to be starter jobs, leading to the pursuit of higher education and higher level roles, he said.

Hearing from the youth, the tribe also realized there must be things to do in the community that are free. Azure said one of the first steps was to increase opportunities for outdoor activity by stopping erosion that was damaging lakes with algae blooms.

Currently, the tribe is reconstructing Ox Creek Park in the middle of Belcourt to restore it to health. Once the overall park renovation is completed, the newly named Siipiising Creek Park will include a lighted Medicine Wheel walking path around a new playground, with a splashpad and basketball court. There will be an honoring tree for the first director at the Recovery Center, Joan Azure, who died earlier this year, and her family.

Submitted Art A rendering shows the 170-foot in diameter powwow arbor soon to be completed in Dunseith.

Near the park will be a new physical therapy center. It is expected to open this year with contract physical therapists, including some therapists who are tribal members.

Azure said sometimes sidesteps are necessary along the way in the tribe’s development plan, but the plan continues to move forward.

“It just keeps expanding every year,” he said. “Once we open the doors on one, our internal funding that we utilize then rolls over into the next projects.”

Three key projects have been a veterans park in Dunseith that was dedicated last November, the roundhouse cultural center west of Belcourt and the powwow arbor in Dunseith that are to be completed this summer.

The Roger Counts Veterans Park is named for the local American Legion commander, who helped spearhead the project. The entrance has stone markers for the Turtle Mountain tribe and Counts, and plans are to add a second entrance stone for Rolette County, according to Anita Blue, executive director in the tribal planning office.

The park includes picnic grounds, a walking trail and a memorial with the names of deceased veterans from the county and tribe. A large tipi, erected with wooden poles and featuring a turtle inlay, along with signage representing the Seven Teachings, will be added and a parking lot constructed.

There’s also interest in erecting statues of soldiers of the five branches of the military in the park in the future. Restrooms are another phase of the project.

The grand opening of the $4 million powwow arbor, being built by Gleason Construction of Devils Lake, will be held in conjunction with the annual Little Shell Memorial Powwow and the first International Peace Powwow, an official event of the America250 and ND250 commissions. The commissions celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The peace powwow will be held Monday, July 6, in Dunseith, whose name means “city of peace” in Gaelic. It follows the Little Shell powwow, from July 3-5. Dancers, drum groups, families and visitors are expected from across the United States, Canada and other international indigenous communities. Updates on the upcoming powwow will be available at peacepowwow.com.

The 170-foot diameter arbor will have a state-of-the-art sound system and be able to accommodate up to 16 drums. The canopy around the arbor will protect bleachers installed around the grassed, open area, about the size of a football field, where dancers will perform. Landscaping yet to be done includes constructing a cultural fire pit, over which drums are heated to soften the leather.

Future projects will install fans under the canopy and restrooms and showerhouses.

The property will include the existing Eagle Heart events building and a feast building for food services, creating a campus for activities with the arbor, Blue said. When not in use for powwows, the campus could serve to host events such as farmers markets, flea markets or art markets, she said.

The roundhouse project should be done in June. Once weather allows, the outdoor cultural fire pits, parking lot, some RV parking spots, landscaping and fencing will be constructed, Blue said.

The roundhouse shape represents the circle of life in Native culture. The building’s floor features Medicine Wheel colors of black, red, yellow and white. The roundhouse will have a drug- and alcohol-free policy and will serve as a center for cultural teachings and ceremonies, including traditional funerals.

The Lynn Gourneau “Nigaanii Binesii” (Thunderbird) Turtle Mountain Cultural Center is named for Gourneau, a tribal council member who spearheaded the roundhouse project. Activities at the center will be coordinated through the Turtle Mountain Heritage Center.

The heritage center looks to expand its own programming as well. It seeks to increase its community engagement this year with more classes and activities for the public. Among offerings will be powwow dance classes, a tiny tots dance class, basic sewing and making ribbon skirts.

“We actually get quite a few people who are interested in classes,” director/curator Danielle Wilkie said. “We get people from out of town that are interested in learning. So, it’s really nice to see that people are interested in the things that we have to offer and how we can be of use to them. That’s kind of my goal is to make it somewhere where people can come for information and education, and then also the fun stuff like beading and regalia making.”

The heritage center has seen increased traffic by making available beads for traditional crafts. It has started adding fabric and looks to add leather, making these items available for crafters and regalia designers locally, Wilkie said.

Tipi construction is another offering that the center wants to do more with, Wilkie said. The center has had a small number of tipis erected on the grounds from May through October, and the goal is to put up about 10, she said.

“I’ll really be working on curating more items. We’ve built a relationship with the Smithsonian and the Turtle Mountain College here in Belcourt,” she said, noting the opportunities to exchange artifacts will increase exposure and generate more visitor traffic.

Public tours of the heritage center are available by calling 244-5530 or emailing tm.heritage@tmbci.org.

Meanwhile, Sky Dancer Casino and Resort is moving forward with remodeling of its hotel and restaurant.

“We’ll be remodeling 100 rooms,” SkyDancer General Manager Randy Brunelle said. “I’ve got rooms that have been out of service, ever since COVID actually, so I’ve got those rooms all stripped down, ready to go.”

The plan is to remodel the top two floors, then make those rooms available while transitioning the remodeling to the lower level, he said. Once fully refurbished, the hotel will increase from its current 140 available rooms to 200 rooms.

Brunelle said Sky Dancer events, including dart, poker and pool tournaments, are attracting more visitors, but it is amenities such as the waterpark and new trampoline park that are enhancing those visitor numbers and filling the hotel because now players are bringing their families.

Additional construction is expected this year on a winter park, which should be ready by next winter, Brunelle said. The park will offer sledding, tubing, snowboarding and some downhill skiing on manmade hills. Sky Dancer also has plans for RV park construction next summer.

This summer, Sky Dancer will be hosting the PRCA, a professional rodeo, in June; the Chippewa Stampede (Indian National Finals Rodeo) in July; and Championship Team Roping in August.

SkyDancer also hosts one of the state’s most impressive July 4 fireworks displays, which is free to attend and this year will include a drone light show. The drone show will include a white buffalo and a Sky Dancer brand emblem that will actually dance.

“I had dreams about that since I started working here,” Brunelle said of a dancer in the sky. “I started seeing these drones coming up, and I was thinking, ‘OK.'”

The show will be provided by Sky Elements, the third place winner on America’s Got Talent.

Sky Dancer will be hosting North Dakota’s largest demolition derby the following weekend, with 160 cars registered as of April 1 and around 200 cars expected to compete for $100,000 in prize money, Brunelle said. SkyDancer also will host a pre-event on July 10 in connection with a peace symposium at the Peace Garden.

The peace symposium will be held July 11 at the International Peace Garden, north of Dunseith. It will include flag raisings for the Spirit Lake, MHA (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara) Nation and Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribes. Flags for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and Standing Rock Sioux tribes previously were ceremoniously raised and continue to have a presence at the garden.