Larkspur Consulting Inc. (“LCI”), on behalf of its client, the Owner, Blood Tribe Administration (“BTA”), invites Proponents to submit proposals for the provision of coordinated design services for the proposed new Blood Tribe Administration Building. LCI has been engaged by the Blood Tribe to provide owner representation during the RFP, planning, design and construction process.
Kainai (Blood Tribe) are a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy and are bound together with other Confederacy Tribes – Siksika, Pikuni, and Amskapi Pikuni – by a common culture, language and kinship system. At the time of European contact, Blackfoot territory was bordered on the north by the North Saskatchewan River in what is now the Province of Alberta, on the south by the Yellowstone River in what is now the State of Montana, on the west by the Continental Divide, and on the east by the Great Sand Hills in what is now the Province of Saskatchewan. In the early 1800’s, the Kainai lived and hunted primarily in southern and southeastern Alberta, and in northern Montana. It is now part of Treaty 7. Today, Kainai are in southern Alberta on the Blood Reserve, the largest Reserve in Canada at 518.5 square miles (1,342.9 square kilometers) with a population of over 12,250 members. It is approximately 200 km south of Calgary. The Blood Tribes’ major economic base has traditionally been agriculture.
The Blood Tribe carries out its function of governance through an elected leadership in accordance with the Kainaiwa/Blood Tribe Election Bylaw and Regulations established in 1995. Blood Tribe Administration provides administrative and financial management support to Chief and Council. This Administration includes senior management positions, the department heads of twelve departments that provide key services to the Blood Tribe, and liaisons with eleven entities that have been established to deliver a range of social, educational, recreational, justice, health, and economic functions within the Blood Tribe.
The current Blood Tribe Administration facility is no longer meeting the needs of the Blood Tribe. It is an aging facility that does not suite the program requirements and arrangements for management and departments, does not meet current standards for accessibility and inclusivity, does not promote culture nor community pride, and requires extensive work to create a comfortable and amenable workplace.
The departments that will be moving in the new Administration building when completed will be a) Communications and Engagement, b) Economic Development, c) Membership, d) Finance, e) Council’s senior management, f) Human Resources, g) Lands Management, h) Information Technology and Information Services, and i) Tribal Government. Housing may be part of this new building. This will free up space and allow existing buildings to be renovated for other important community uses sometime in the future.
The new Kainai Administration building will provide a purpose-built space where the administration of the Blood Tribe can operate to its fullest extent and meet the current and future needs of our government. It will be guided by five principles:
• An environment of inclusivity.
• A representation of culture.
• A place of prominence.
• Visibility of services.
• Sustainable infrastructure.
