Plans for 2017 at Dakota Plains First Nation include concentrating on economic development as well as improving and adding housing.

Chief Orville Smoke explains they want to better supply to the needs of the people in the community.

"I want to make my people comfortable if I can and that way we don't lose our young people to looking to the outside for comfort," says Smoke. "I think if we supplied whatever they needed we wouldn't be losing anybody. That's something that we did some 400 years ago, 100 years ago; we provided for our people, and looked after our people. I think we have to get back to that."

He explains in order to do so they have to create their own source of revenue which will be a focus of 2017. Smoke adds he hopes to work with Portage La Prairie to accomplish these goals.