The community of Shoal Lake 40 is in the midsts of a four-day celebration as Freedom Road has finally opened.

The community was cut off to land access and made into an island in 1919 in order that Winnipeg could be supplied with drinking water. The community has fought for years to get an all-weather road to connect them with the TransCanada Highway. In recent years many Christians joined the fight, including singer/songwriter Steve Bell.

"We're open for business."

"It's important for all of us," Bell told CHVN in a 2018 interview. "Winnipeg has flourished for over a century at the expense of Shoal Lake 40."

The road was given the unofficial name of "Freedom Road" by activists. It officially opened Monday, June 3, 2019.

The first day of a four-day celebration began with a traditional powwow and fish fry.

Erwin Redsky is the chief at Shoal Lake 40, and he was happy to welcome visitors, as they celebrate the opening of Freedom Road.

"We're open for business. We've got access to the Trans-Canada and all that commerce that's going by us every day," he says.

The 24-kilometre road cost more than $30 million, but Redsky is hoping it will open the doors to prosperity, as well as allow many of his community members to return home.

"This story goes back a hundred years exactly to this year. I think about Pete Redsky in 1919, and my father in the 1950s. The leaders before me, who fought long and hard for this," the chief says.