ATCO designed the new 17,500 sq. ft. facility with a cultural room, a lunch room, staff training room and private offices for everyone. It also includes a visiting room with its own private bathroom and a separate entrance, so families can visit their children outside of regular business hours. The front entrance displays a colourful medicine wheel artistically laid into the floor as a tribute to Samson Cree Nation’s traditions and culture. “They were quite flexible in suiting the design to our needs,” says Saddleback, “ATCO understands the First Nations Communities and they treat us with respect.”

Some funding for the new facility was secured through INAC (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada) and KCWS teamed up with ATCO to make their vision a reality. We built good rapport with the ATCO team. We come from two different worlds, yet we were able to understand each other, cooperate and build up that working relationship – they’re good people.”