Canada’s First Nations Turn Golf to Gold

From the Rocky Mountains in the West to the Atlantic Ocean in the East, the First Nations of Canada are building or acquiring golf courses for the jobs and other opportunities—including guaranteed tee times—the game offers band members.

For a thousand years the rough-and-tumble sport of lacrosse was the preferred leisure pastime of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples. Golf? That was strictly for Johnny-come-lately white colonizers.

But over the past 30 years or so First Nation bands across the country have embraced golf not only for the gentle beauty of the game, but for the economic benefits gained from the ownership of courses that provide jobs and other opportunities for band members. More than 35 Indigenous-owned golf courses are scattered across Canada, ranging from basic nine-hole tracks to marquee properties home to championship layouts, luxury hotels and bustling casinos.

“Golf course ownership benefits the First Nations in so many ways,” says Ryan Rogers, Communications Manager of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada. “But it has also been a boon to the entire Canadian tourism industry. People from around the world come to Canada to experience the First Nations culture that has fascinated many of them since they were children.”

Located on the windswept prairie just outside Saskatoon, in the province of Saskatchewan, Dakota Dunes Golf Links became the first Indigenous-owned course to grab the national spotlight when Golf Digest declared it Canada’s best new course of 2005. In keeping with the wishes of the course’s principal owner, the Whitecap Dakota First Nation, architects Graham Cooke and Wayne Carlton moved as little earth as possible during the construction of an exhilarating, rollercoaster ride of a layout whose sudden fame had golfers eagerly booking flights to Saskatoon.

Dakota Dunes and its sister resort, which includes a hotel and casino, soon became a showplace for First Nations culture. Indigenous-themed activities range from an evening spent enjoying tea, bannock and folktales around a bonfire to year-round guided hiking expeditions in nearby Wanuskewin Heritage Park.

But even more, golf properties owned by First Nations are places where old wounds can finally start to heal.

“Truth, acceptance and resilience“ is the theme at St. Eugene Resort, just outside the British Columbia city of Cranbrook.  A former residential school for Indigenous children torn from their families, the resort includes an an acclaimed Les Furber-designed golf course, a casino, and an interpretive centre that tells the story of the Ktunaxa Nation, the resort’s owners. Each hole on the golf course has been given a Ktunaxa name that is displayed with phonetic spelling and translation—a fun introduction to one of the most unique and complex languages in the world.

Here, five top First Nations golf properties that do Canada proud.

Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course, British Columbia

In the southern reaches of British Columbia, where the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert snakes into the Okanagan Valley, the landscape suddenly becomes starker, though no less lovely.

Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course weaves through canyons and around award-winning vineyards, serving up stunning views of McIntyre Bluff and the sage-covered hills that roll toward the nearby town of Oliver. The course’s owner, the Osoyoos Indian Band, has long called this sun-scorched landscape Nk’Mip (pronounced in-ka-meep), which roughly translates to “flat bottom land at the mouth of a creek or river.”

Led since 1985 by visionary Chief Clarence Louie, the once impoverished 600-member Osoyoos Indian Band now owns more businesses per capita than any First Nation in Canada, making it an economic powerhouse in the region. The flagship of the band’s success is Spirit Ridge Resort, in the popular tourist town of Osoyoos. The hilltop property includes a four-star, Hyatt-managed all-suite hotel, Nk’Mip Cellars (North America’s first Indigenous-owned and operated winery), condos, an RV park, and the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, an inter-active, award-winning architectural marvel ingeniously built into a hillside.

And found on band property next door to Spirit Ridge Resort is Sonora Dunes, a gently rolling par-35, nine-hole course that offers expansive views over the winery, vineyards, mountains and Osoyoos Lake.

But it’s nearby Nk’Mip that’s the real draw for golfers. Expanded from a nine-hole course purchased by the band in 1994, today’s 6,818-yard layout is affordable and walkable, with invitingly wide fairways that make the course playable for golfers of all levels. Charmingly scattered throughout the 18 holes are First Nations sculptures and other artworks.

Also remember to keep an eye out for scorpions and rattlesnakes. This is a desert, after all.

St. Eugene Resort Golf Course, British Columbia

A hated symbol of oppression has been turned into the centerpiece of one of Canada’s most popular golf resorts by the remarkably resilient Ktunaxa Nation.

From 1912 to 1970, imposing red-roofed and cupola-topped St. Eugene Mission served as the first comprehensive Indian Industrial and Residential school in the Canadian West. After the building had been abandoned for 20 years, the Ktunaxa (pronounced k-too-nah-ha) purchased their old school, though some band members angrily insisted it would be better to burn it to the ground. Then began the difficult 10-year, CAD$40-million transformation of the property into today’s stylish 125-room St. Eugene Resort.

Golf entered the picture with the unveiling of St. Eugene Golf Course in 2000. The 7,007-yard design presents glorious views of the Purcell and Rocky Mountains as it gathers steam alongside the fast-rushing St. Mary River. Designed by Les Furber, who more than any other architect has put his stamp on golf in the Canadian West, the challenging yet always fair layout is especially memorable on the back nine, where holes tumble and roll through rugged pine-tree terrain. And like all superior courses, this one ends with a wallop. The par-five 18th hole is a risk-reward beauty that challenges long hitters to go for the water-guarded green in two.

More than 150 species of birds call this stunning setting home, as do endangered species such as the blue heron, bald eagle, badger and painted turtle. All told there are 207 acres of natural areas that include deciduous and coniferous forests, wetlands, ponds, buffer zones and wildlife corridors.

Just as it has for more than a century, the ivy-covered St. Eugene Mission building looms over the property. But instead of classrooms and dormitories, it now holds 25 beautifully appointed rooms and suites, with the remainder of the resort’s guest rooms housed in an adjacent lodge-style building. The resort is also home to the Silver Water Spa, a health club, a 114-site KOA RV park, and the Casino of the Rockies. There are three restaurants, including upscale Numa, which specializes in Indigenous-inspired fare such as bannock bruschetta, smoked-bacon gnocchi, and bison Bolognese.

Resort guests are encouraged to take a slow walk through the hallways of the mission building, where poignant photos of the school, former students, and other band members line the red-brick walls. But for a deeper dive into the history, mythology and culture of the Ktunaxa people be sure to visit the Interpretive Centre on the lower floor.

Talking Rock Golf Course, British Columbia

A depiction of a black bear standing defiantly on two legs is the tribal emblem of the Little Shuswap Lake First Nation, a fitting metaphor for the strength of will that led the band to build Talking Rock Golf Course at Quaaout Resort—and then to survive two fires that threatened all they had accomplished.

Opened on the shore of Little Shuswap Lake in 2007, near the British Columbia mountain town of Chase, Talking Rock twists through a mature forest before ending with a breathtaking par-4 18th hole on the shoreline. The 7,129-yard design by Canadian architects Graham Cooke and Wayne Carlton features comfortably wide landing areas off the tee, but is evilly boobytrapped with dozens of bunkers, including one smack in the middle of the first fairway.

Launched to rave reviews, the golf course quickly became the featured draw at a mountain retreat that included five-star Quaaout Lodge and Spa, opened in 1992. The band prospered as never before. Many signed up for lessons at the new 16-acre golf academy, and dozens more were employed throughout a resort that proudly showcased the traditions of the First Nations in the area. Cultural experiences on offer included rock and paddle painting, storytelling, and Walk the Lands and ethnobotany tours.

Then, in 2022, an attic fire quickly spread and destroyed all 70 guest rooms at Quaaout Lodge. The band vowed to rebuild. But just over a year later the massive Bush Creek East wildfire laid waste to the region, forcing widespread evacuations. Dozens of homes owned by band members were lost.

The good news when the flames finally subsided was that the golf course was still standing, with only one structure—the washroom on hole 16—destroyed. Talking Rock looks different post-wildfire, particularly on the front nine, where the forest that once surrounded the holes has been thinned. But despite the loss of trees, the course plays exactly as it always has.

“The task set out before us is daunting,” says James Tomma, the band’s chief, of what will surely be a challenging recovery. “My band, they’re resilient. We have gone through a lot and are still here.”

Dakota Dunes Golf Links, Saskatchewan

Previously unfamiliar to the majority of Canadian golfers, the stark and windswept charms of prairie golf finally grabbed the national spotlight when Golf Digest declared Dakota Dunes Golf Links Canada’s best new course of 2005.

Here, at last, was a marquee course capable of igniting golf tourism in the province of Saskatchewan. Marketers, hoping to emulate the success of Prince Edward Island, which quickly turned itself into Canada’s hottest golf destination after the Links at Crowbush Cove won the same award in 1994, prominently featured Dakota Dunes in tourism advertising campaigns.

Guided by the wishes of the course’s principal owner, the Whitecap Dakota First Nation, architects Graham Cooke and Wayne Carlton adopted a minimalist approach in the shaping of their demanding 7,301-yard, links-style layout. Dakota Dunes kicks and bucks like a runaway bronco through the soaring natural sand dunes of the South Saskatchewan River Valley, a short drive south of Saskatoon. Bunkers were left wild and woolly, edged by prairie grasses that snare wayward shots. Two of the par fives stretch more than 600 yards. Adding to the challenge are slanting fairways and sinkholes on almost every hole.

“I was astonished when I first saw the endless white-capped dunes,” co-architect Carleton says. “It was land made for a links-style course. A one-in-a-million property.”

The course’s success led to the opening of the Dakota Dunes Casino in 2007, and then the 155-room Dakota Dunes Resort in 2020. The latter is praised for its Indigenous-themed design that includes angular window trims and exterior wood panels that echo the traditional tipi. Even the resort’s cuisine is influenced by Indigenous traditions—the fall-off-the-bone Tatanka bison ribs, for instance, are cured and braised, then covered in a Saskatoon berry and mesquite BBQ sauce.

And scheduled to open in 2026 is the CAD$52-million Dakota Dunes Thermal Spa, the first Indigenous-themed thermal spa in Canada. Just the place to work out the kinks between rounds at the course that helped spark Canada’s First Nations golf boom.

Digby Pines Golf Course, Nova Scotia

Golf courses of the stature of Digby Pines don’t often come up for sale. Designed by legendary Canadian golf architect Stanley Thompson, Digby Pines and its nearby sister resort, Digby Pines Golf Resort & Spa, have been twin pillars of the Canadian game since the early 1930s.