Elders bless, open city’s first urban all-season sweat lodge

Indigenous Winnipeggers now have access to sweat lodge ceremonies all year long.

On Friday Ka Ni Kanichihk unveiled Winnipeg’s first urban, all-seasons sweat lodge. The organization will hold ceremonies throughout the year, giving people who live in the city equitable access to the sacred ritual.

“We’re now going to be able to offer ceremony for relatives that can’t access a sweat ceremony outside the city because of financial restraint or that kind of thing,” said Wally Chartrand, a cultural advisor for Ka Ni Kanichihk.

The sweat lodge itself is enclosed in a cedar-panelled building equipped with washrooms and benches. Outside the building is a fire pit enclosed with a seating area and plants which are used as traditional Indigenous medicine during the ceremonies.

Sweat lodges are used by Indigenous people as sacred ceremony focused on spiritual, mental and physical healing and accessible to people of all ages. The structures are made of red willow wood and covered with a blanket, which is intended to mimic a woman’s womb. A fire outside the sweat lodge heats up rocks which are then placed inside the structure, which commences the sweat.

Songs and teachings are recited during the four-part ceremony, followed by a feast.

Apart from the occasional sweat lodge held privately, those wanting to participate had to drive up to an hour outside the city.

“This also means that our relatives can now access ceremony, either if they’ve never tried it before, or to continue on their walk, their journey in terms of whatever healing path that they’re on,” Chartrand said.

The sweat lodge was formally blessed and opened by elders Friday during Ka Ni Kanichihk’s annual block party. Residents in the community gathered on Gertie Street outside the organization’s office for a barbecue, bouncy castle and face-painting.

The project was the latest of several for the non-profit, which provides programming for Indigenous people in the inner city. Ka Ni Kanichihk recently finished expanding its main building at 455 McDermot Ave. In December 2025 the organization unveiled its $14-million expanded campus, which features 48 daycare spaces and education programs for Indigenous mothers and youths.

The expansion also includes a clinic space that provides low-barrier health care.

Associate executive director Tammy Hamelin said it’s important that her organization creates opportunities for all to participate in Indigenous ceremonies.

“It’s such a beautiful space, and as soon as you walk up to it, it just brings this calmness to you that feels like a weight is lifted. It feels like you’re getting reborn,” Hamelin said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca