Niibing Tribal Tours sees expansion
By Rick Garrick
NEEBING — Red Rock Indian Band’s Cindy Crowe recently added 13 cabins to her Niibing Tribal Tours business, located in the Municipality of Neebing, about 10 minutes from the U.S. border.
“When we started off, people were tenting when they came camping, so they’d either bring their own tent trailers or they would rent trailers or bring tents,” says Crowe, sole proprietor at Niibing Tribal Tours. “Now I have the 13 cabins that I’m slowly getting ready for guests. We have five cabins ready right now and I’ve already got an outpouring from Airbnb, so I don’t think I’m going to have any issues renting my cabins.”
Crowe says they started building the 10-by-16-foot cabins at the beginning of June, with one contractor responsible for building the gravel beds underneath each cabin and another contractor who built the cabins.
“I’m very happy with the pricing, I’m very happy with the process,” Crowe says. “There’s still some cabins that still need to have the interiors done.”
Crowe says the cabins have two windows, one on each side, and two cots.
“Eventually I’ll have twin beds, but for now, I’ve got cots,” Crowe says. “I’m in the process of ordering the beds now.”
Crowe says she paid for the cabins through the Robinson Superior annuities payments that she received.
“I’m so grateful that the settlements came through when they did, because I had my plans that I wanted to build this year,” Crowe says. “So it’s my personal investment. It’s an investment in me, as a senior, I’ll be able to use this income to live off of.”
Crowe says the cabins will be available for rent through Airbnb or Hipcamp when they are not being used for retreats or events for organizations.
“If people are healing from addictions or mental health issues and their organization wants to accommodate them out here, I’m happy to do that as well,” Crowe says.
Crowe says she offers add-on excursions, such as taking people on tours to locations such as Anemki Wajiw (Mount McKay), the Sleeping Giant, Kakabeka Falls, and the Amethyst mines.
“If they want to do an adventure, if they want to do an activity like making dreamcatchers or making their own hand drums, I’m happy to do that as well,” Crowe says.
Crowe says she has received interest from some cruise ship associations that are looking for authentic Indigenous experiences, as well as from Tourism Thunder Bay.
“The Municipality of Neebing has been so supportive throughout this whole process because my first step was needing to rezone my property,” Crowe says. “So now that I’m zoned Recreation Commercial, I have a lot more freedom. I meet with the [Neebing] Council from time to time anyway for other things, so it’s a really good working relationship.”
Crowe says her property includes 135 acres on Little Trout Bay Rd., which is about 45 kilometres south of the Thunder Bay International Airport.
“It is surrounded by nature,” Crowe says. “I’m also next to a few conservation areas, there’s the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, there’s the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and then there’s the (Lake Superior) National Marine Conservation Area. I’m very excited to get some archaeologists out here to help me find some artifacts. I know our people were using this land before, it’s right on the shores of Lake Superior.”
Crowe says there is a stream on her property, which flows into the nearby Cloud River and then Lake Superior.
“I’m very blessed with tamarack on the property,” Crowe says. “[There’s] red osier dogwood that we use for making dreamcatchers, and lots of wildlife.”
Crowe says she also has a fire pit and a sweat lodge on her property.
“I have two visitors right now from the Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF),” Crowe says, noting that one was from France and one from Germany. “So that’s really working out for me. Damien (also from WWOOF) was here last month and he installed the gutters and rain barrels on the common area and on the tool shed, and he also replaced the roof on the tool shed — that was all his ideas, so it’s a very good exchange.”
Crowe says she still needs to install some windows in the common area building, which has a cooking area, fridge, freezer and tables.
“It’s very much about creating community, creating and fostering community,” Crowe says. “The people that come for the retreats, they don’t just come once, they come back. People leave here saying things like, it’s very transformative, very healing, very magical.”
Information about Niibing Tribal Tours is posted at: niibing.ca/.