Thunderbird House up for overdue reno

The Circle of Life Thunderbird House on Main Street, known for its iconic design and signature copper roof, is in line for sorely needed repairs after years of deterioration and vandalism.

Arrow Commercial Exteriors has been hired to remediate the exterior of the Indigenous cultural hub at the corner of Higgins Avenue, which opened to great fanfare in March 2000.

The first order of business is to fix the roof, which was designed by architect Douglas Cardinal to look like a great copper eagle sheltering the building with its wings.

In recent years, thieves have stripped its copper panelling. The new roof will pay homage to the original design while removing the risk of it being stripped.

The new roof will be finished steel in a copper tone, said Peter Parkman, a principal at Arrow Commercial Exteriors.

Next week, Arrow will install a weather-proof membrane on the roof so repairs can happen throughout winter and be completed by March. At that point, plumbing, ventilation and other repairs will occur.

Parkman hopes the project will be finished by next summer.

“We’re excited for this project, we have a lot of Indigenous representation in our company and we’re happy to have been chosen as the ones to do this work,” Parkman said.

Thunderbird House board of directors chairwoman Coleen Rajotte says she has been working to have the repairs done after she was elected board chair in 2024. Thunderbird House was given $2.7 million from a federal grant program in 2023.

The building has been occupied by a small group of protesters since March who have demanded changes to the leadership of Thunderbird House. They want it repaired and say there must be financial transparency.

“We’ve been advocating for these repairs for months,” said protester Joseph Munro. “We believe that the company wants to do right by the Thunderbird House and we’re happy to see these renovations happen.”

Munro says he and the other protesters will remain in the building while it is repaired.

Rajotte said she recognizes the board needs to work with the group before the building can open to the public.

Relations between the board of directors and protesters has been tense in recent months and conversations have been largely non-existent, she said.

She said the board has been locked out of Thunderbird House by the protesters, and the two camps haven’t spoken since July.

Arrow has been acting as the liaison between the two parties since they being awarded the contract.

“At the end of the day I think we all want the same thing, right? We want the building fixed and restored back to what it used to do,” Rajotte said. “So I really hope that we can come to some kind of agreement.”

A cultural ceremony with representatives from all three groups will happen on Saturday to ensure the work moves forward in the “right, respectful” way, Munro said.

Rajotte said she and the volunteer board were working on commissioning an audit, preparing for an annual general meeting for community members and gathering data to share.

Munro said once financial documents are made public and the group has an opportunity to speak at the annual general meeting, he’s confident the relationship between the two camps can be more productive.

The group would also like to see the centre’s elder council restored, so Thunderbird House can be governed by a culturally appropriate group.

“That’s in the bylaws. That’s what we want so it can become a healing space again, a space for our people to gather,” he said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca