BENA — The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe opened a new family-oriented homeless shelter Wednesday, Aug. 26, in Bena.
Niishooshimeyag Wigwam Bena Shelter is located at 15041 Old Housing Dr., just down the road from the Lyman “Dede” Losh Transitional Home, a 26-bed facility. The new building is almost twice the size, and 54 of its 56 beds are reserved for families.
The tribe broke ground on the facility in September 2025 following a spiritual ceremony on the building site hosted by a local knowledge keeper.
Kenneth Thompson, or Standing Bear, is the homeless services program manager. He said the goal of the new space is to facilitate deliberate assistance so families can change course.
“It's kind of like a transitional home, so to speak,” he said, “but we wanted to be more intentional with it.”
In addition to a commercial kitchen and laundry facilities, the shelter also includes amenities for children like a playground and playroom, which Thompson said are essential for parents focusing on getting back on their feet.
“If the parents are doing whatever they need to do — financial literacy, life skills classes, if they're meeting with folks to a Zoom call or something — the kids can be in the playroom, and they don't have to worry about finding childcare,” he said.
Tracey Howg, Thompson’s predecessor as program manager, named the shelter in a recent ceremony. Howg said after smoking tobacco, she received a dream of two women, one surrounded by storms and the other by clear skies, with a baby in a nest between them.
Howg recalled in the dream, the woman surrounded by storms promised a rebirth “into a peaceful life.” The woman with the clear skies promised calm living “without all of the trauma and the stress” that homelessness can incur.
Howg named the building Niishooshimeyag Wigwam or the Lodge of Two Sisters.
Around 60 people attended the shelter's ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 26, a turnout that left Thompson surprised and “ecstatic.”
Following an opening prayer and drum ceremony, Thompson gave opening remarks before passing the mic to four members of the Leech Lake Tribal Council: Jonathan White, Steve White, Leon Staples Jr. and Cindy Kingbird.
Steve White represents District 2, which includes Bena. He described the shelter's location as “the hub at the center of the reservation.”
“So we just want to make it accessible to everyone,” White said. “They can come, have a place to stay and continue on their life and get things straightened out.”
Several members of the tribal council spoke about the need for more housing in Leech Lake. Secretary and Treasurer Cindy Kingbird said she hoped the shelter could pave the way for larger housing reform, with Thompson’s program partnering with other reservation resources.
“So this would be just a temporary stepping stone for our people to get into permanent housing,” Kingbird said.
Stephanie Martin with the Minnesota Department of Human Services also spoke at the event. The shelter was primarily funded through a DHS grant awarded in 2023, which provided funding for emergency shelter projects across Minnesota.
Martin said the agency received nearly 100 applications for the grant, and the total requested funds exceeded the grant’s budget by $265 million.
“The demand was overwhelming,” she said. “...It really shows the strength of the vision that was put forward, a project rooted in community and understanding.”
Leech Lake received over $3.7 million dollars, the full requested amount. Martin said this was 92% of the project’s total cost at the time of application.
"As we celebrate the completion of this new shelter today, we acknowledge that we have built some hope here," she said. "And we continue building a future where homelessness is not inevitable but solvable."
