Bear Hills Casino & Travel Resort

Today, we officially opened our doors. This day - this dream - has been so many years in the making for Louis Bull Tribe. We are so proud that this dream became a reality today. Thank you to Kandice Machado, CEO of AGLC, Minister Rick Wilson, MLA of Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin and Minister of Indigenous Relations, for joining us, our Chief and Council, and our past Chiefs in today’s ribbon cutting.

Today marks one month since we opened our doors. Our grand opening was a celebration that brought together all of our partners - from government, to banks, to construction partners and other Nations. More than anything, it was the first day in a new chapter for Louis Bull Tribe! #grandopening #BearHillsCasino #Alberta #AlbertaCasino #Casino #CasinoOpening #IndigenousTourism #IndigenousOwned #LouisBullTribe

Did you miss us on APTN News last night? You can now watch the story on YouTube! Thanks to APTN for profiling us, and sharing what this casino means for Louis Bull Tribe. We are 100% owned and operated by Louis Bull Tribe, and we are so proud that our story was shared nationally. #LouisBullTribe #IndigenousOwned #Maskwacis #Treaty6 #BearHillsCasino

Our Louis Bull Tribe Elders were the first to walk through our doors, two days before our Grand Opening. Our Elders have been hearing about the dream of the Bear Hills Casino for decades. And when they walked through our doors for the first time, that dream became a reality. The casino is here thanks to the vision of Chief Peter Bull, his council and his administration, and all those that succeeded him. It is here because those leaders made decisions that would benefit the next seven generations. #Elders #BearHillsCasino #Casino #AlbertaCasino #maskwacis #LouisBullTribe

Today, we got a visit from APTN, who wanted to chat with us about Canada’s newest casino! (That’s us, by the way 😉)

🪚 ✨ Construction partner spotlight | Carlson Construction Ltd. ✨ 🔨 Last week, we held three receptions leading up to our grand opening, which brought together groups that were key to this project in different ways. It was fitting that our construction partners Carlson Construction sponsored each of these three receptions, and here’s why… Carlson has been a partner in every sense of the word, being flexible and finding solutions throughout a very complex build. As a 100% Indigenous-owned project, we valued the ways Carlson showed up for us. To name just a few: 🔺 They prioritized employing people from Louis Bull Tribe and Maskwacis during construction, and encouraged any sub-contractors on the project did the same. 🔺As soon as the land the casino sits on was officially added to the reserve, they took it upon themselves to make necessary changes to their payroll to ensure deductions for First Nations employees were updated to reflect their Employment on Reserve status. 🔺 They brought in the best partners and sub-contractors to design and build the space, to ensure we had the best build possible within our budget. We are so proud of the finished product, and it would not have been possible without this partnership with Carlson. A special thanks to Dustin Galet and Josh Gero, who led this project to completion (likely losing an hour or two of sleep along the way), and to Bruce Foster, Stan Colville and all of the other countless Carlson staff who had a hand in this project. #indigenousowned #indigenousemployment #constructionpartners #construction #albertaconstruction #casinoconstruction

51% of our staff is from Louis Bull Tribe and Maskwacis Nations. In our opinion, our entire opening team is AWESOME. But here's why that 51% number is so important... On average, 34% of employees of Host First Nation casinos are from the Host Nation. Of course, when Erika Bull-Giroux — the Director, Socio-Economic Development for Louis Bull Tribe at the time, and now the Executive Director of the Bear Hills Casino Society — heard this stat, she wanted us to aim for 44%. To open our casino with more than half of our employees being from Maskwacis is something we are very proud of. #maskwacis #alberta #indigenousemployment #indigenousowned #louisbulltribe

Now that we're officially open, we invite you to take a look inside Canada's newest casino! #Casino #GamingIndustry #Alberta #AlbertaCasino #LouisBullTribe #BearHillsCasino

GRAND OPENING | JUNE 19 at 3:30 PM The public is invited to join us to celebrate our Grand Opening this Wednesday, June 19 at 3:30 p.m. Beginning at 3:30 p.m., in the tent outside the casino, there will be singers, dancers and speeches, followed by a ribbon cutting. The doors will officially open between 4:30 and 5 p.m. Things to remember: 🔺 NO minors are allowed. Any cars with children inside will be turned away. 🔺 Parking will be limited. Please carpool to the site if you can. 🔺 Bring your own smokes (just for now!) We can’t wait to open our doors to you!

“It’s really economic reconciliation that we’re practicing here with the different governments and our funders and partners.”   Our own Erika Bull-Giroux was featured in the Spring 2024 edition of Canadian Gaming Business Magazine. In the article, Erika shares how, for Louis Bull Tribe, the Bear Hills Casino & Travel Resort is so much more than a casino.    Read to learn more about Louis Bull Tribe’s long road to making this long-held dream a reality: https://lnkd.in/dYhQMkSi