The largest health centre under First Nations’ control in Manitoba has officially opened.
Norway House Cree Nation celebrated the grand opening of the Kinosew Sipi Nanatawiwekamik Health Centre of Excellence Tuesday. The $157.9-million facility will provide a full range of health services close to home.
“It’s a big relief,” Norway House Chief Larson Anderson told the Free Press as he noted the health centre has been years in the making. “It’s given us a lot of pride (and) it’s given us a lot of hope.”
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Norway House Cree Nation Kinosew Sipi Nanatawiwekamik Health Centre of Excellence
Norway House, which is 450 kilometres north of Winnipeg, has an on-reserve population of 6,730 and a total population of 9,095.
The 9,470-square-metre centre will provide emergency, in-patient and palliative care, dialysis, rehabilitation therapy, as well as diagnostic programs and services.
Federal Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, who was in Norway House in September 2018 when the federal government announced an initial $100-million investment in the project, called Tuesday’s grand opening a special occasion.
“Improving health services in Indigenous communities is something we all need to keep working on. We need to do better,” Vandal said during the event, part of which was livestreamed on YouTube.
“This centre will benefit generations for years and years to come,” he said.
The facility supports a holistic model of care by blending western and Indigenous health practices.
“It’s a generational and transformative accomplishment,” Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said. “This is something that is going to signal to not only the rest of Manitoba, but certainly across the country, what can be achieved when we work together.”
The centre replaces the Norway House Indian Hospital, which Anderson noted had a problematic history — including an incident in 1975 in which four babies were switched at birth.
He knows first-hand the difference a local health centre can make.
His first three daughters were born in Winnipeg, experiences he described as “very cold and not very First Nation-like.”
His fourth daughter was born in Norway House, where numerous family members could share in the joy.
The health centre has given community members a sense that they are strong, capable and able to do what everyone else can do, Anderson said.
“I’m a very strong believer in my people and my nation,” he said. “We’re a growing nation and we want to be just like everybody else in small town Canada.”
aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca
Aaron Epp
Reporter
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.
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