The Harper Government is going to invest in Whitecap Dakota First Nation by ponying up with actual cash for the new hotel.

Chief Darcy Bear announced today that the Harper government will provide 3 million dollars in investment through the Aboriginal Business Development Program. The construction of the entire hotel-spa project, which Whitecap always intended to build, will get underway this fall and will be complete by the summer of 2014.

The First Nation has secured private sector financing for the project, which will include a 161 room complex and will be located in the same area s the First Nation's existing entertainment facility - specifically the Dakota Dunes Golf Links and the Dakota Dunes Casino. The development will include a pool, convention centre, restaurant and lounge as well as a fitness centre and a spa.