Towering above the foyer in okimaw peyesew kamik (King Thunderbird Centre), large white letters emblazoned on the windows read: “As long as the grass grows and the river flows.” The words are meant to convey longevity and stability, the ethos of Boyle Street Community Services’ new facility, which opened its doors in December 2025. The words also acknowlege treaty commitments.
The centre features a new bright and bold thunderbird logo and tucked-away nooks containing plants and traditional medicines, including sage, sweetgrass and cedar. The $49.5-million facility threads Indigenous art and culture throughout its almost 75,000 square feet.
On the bottom floor, a series of dens offer services such as nursing, mental health support and occupational therapy. But there are also spaces for the city’s most vulnerable to gather, connect and seek reprieve. Upstairs, you’ll find a sprawling administrative area featuring cultural spaces and meeting rooms. Outside, there’s a sweat lodge in the fenced yard.
For Jordan Reiniger, executive director of Boyle Street Community Services, the building is a testament to community.
“And okimaw peyesew kamik says to every person who walks in these doors that not only do you deserve to have one of the city’s most beautiful buildings, but that a community of people from all walks of life rallied to make it so.”
This article appears in the March 2026 issue of Edify
