PLHI Summer 2026 Internship
Work with local producers on regenerative and Indigenous agriculture practices. We will also learn about other Piikani Lodge programs on the health of the people and the land.
Hands-on learning with a focus on:
Piikani Cultural science & Land Management
Soil Science, Plant Science, & Field work
Climate Change Adaptation & Community Health
Story-Mapping & Knowledge Exchanges
Internship Details
10-week program
June 8- August 28
Open to: High School, College, Non-students are also welcome to apply.
Pay: $18.00/hour
FlyerHours: 30 hours/week
Location: On the Blackfeet Nation
Focus: Develop skills based on your professional interests while supporting community agriculture and cultural knowledge.
How to Apply: Complete Applicant Form and submit your RESUME to Jaelyn Long Time Sleeping. The flyer includes a QR code to the form as well.
Interviews will begin April 23, 2026. If the link doesn’t work, or if you’re interested but unable to submit your materials by the deadline, please contact us before April 23rd to express your interest.
Request for Proposals for Architectural Services
Location: Browning, MT
Position: Contractual (Starts ASAP)
Salary: TBD, see bid information below.
Reports to: Andrew Berger, Director of Agriculture and Climate Planning
Piikani Lodge Health Institute is a Indigenous led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization requesting proposals regarding architectural design for a ~3500 square foot Indigenous Lodge/Roundhouse style facility at the Piikani Lodge site just outside of Browning, MT. In addition to conceptual, schematic, and construction level design detail for the building, we are seeking collaboration on long term masterplanning for phased development of additional architectural facilities to be constructed on our 600+ acre site. This contract may lead to future opportunities for additional on-site building design services, as well.
Please find our fully detailed request under “Description of Services Requested” below, including links to background documents. For this RFP, please feel free to submit a proposal just for 1) Architectural Design; 2) Masterplanning Support; or for both as suits the interest and capacity of your firm.
Please reach out for additional context documents including conceptual design schemes, basemaps, or other clarification, and thank you in advance for all the consideration! We greatly appreciate your interest in partnering with Piikani Lodge on this deeply dynamic and impactful project.
Procedural, administrative, or contractual questions may be submitted in advance (at least 1 week) of submission deadline 5pm MST April 3, 2026. We appreciate your timely response to this request.
Please email all responses and questions to Andrew Berger at aberger@piikanilodge.org.
Thank you for your interest in contributing to the enhancement of the Piikani Lodge Health Institute.
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES REQUESTED:
We are currently requesting proposals addressing the following scope. Feel free to combine or separate your proposals accordingly, as you see fit:
Architectural Design For “Place Where We Gather” Roundhouse Facilities
An ~3500 Sqft Building Central to PLHI Programs
Building Program: The building will include a large multi-use lodge/roundhouse style space ( ~1000 sqft), community kitchen (~700 sqft), resource library (~700+ sq ft), bathroom facilities, and various offices and breakout spaces (~1000 sqft)
Upon request, we can provide conceptual drawings and diagrams, maps, and other graphics to describe our goals for specific programmatic impacts within the facility.
Please include concept & schematic design development phases in your proposal, as well as design development, with full construction documents completed either by your firm or in partnership with a contractor and architect of record. We’re open to suggestions here based on the project delivery method your firm is set up for.
We have specific sustainability goals we would like to discuss, and interest in pursuing the Living Building Challenge, LEED and other exemplary levels of sustainability aligned with our goals for the project and the community. Please reach out to this while crafting your bid, as you would like. In your proposal, please include your experiences with sustainability practices within the design process and final built work.
Building Cost: The anticipated construction cost for the initial roundhouse building is currently ~$350-$550,000.
Project Delivery Method:
We want to hear your preference for design and construction delivery based on the structure of your firm. We believe either a Construction Manager at Risk may be most appropriate for this project and community we’re working in. We are also open to Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, and any other suggestions you’re proposing. Please feel free to reach out while crafting your proposal with any questions about what might fit our project and organization.
Master Planning Support & Long Term Architectural Phasing
To Align Architectural Goals With Overall Site Program & Phasing
We want to be sure that the placement of our roundhouse and other future facilities align with additional programmatic goals for the site long term. Architectural elements considered in the masterplanning process would include
future cabins, agricultural arena and training facilities, greenhouses, a community market and point of sale, trails, outdoor classrooms, agricultural demonstrations, horse culture facilities, tourist circulation, utilities, and more.
The master plan will lay out exemplary regenerative practices on site for water harvesting and filtration, habitat creation and conservation, renewable energy systems, sovereign food systems, regenerative agriculture, bioculture gardens and orchards, and more sustainable practices. We will be exploring various certification frameworks for nature based systems including LEED, Living Building Challenge, SITES, and others.
Andrew Berger at PLHI is an experienced landscape designer and planner, and specifically funded for this work as landscape architect and project lead for developing the masterplan and for other detailed site concepts, schematics, and design detail work on the interpretive trail, agricultural practice demonstrations, site plantings, water management on site, and other landscape elements. We look forward to building a collaborative design team, and are looking for an experienced team to closely collaborate around integrating site and building designs.
Please indicate if your firm has Landscape Architects on staff, as well.
We would want to set a first visit to the site in Spring 2026, & with a masterplan completed by the end of 2026 (timeline to be discussed further and is detailed more below).
We currently have a full site survey, inspection reports for existing structures, other analytical basemaps, seasonal drone footage, participatory site observation maps on GIS, plant surveys, Audubon bird surveys, and additional site concepts already spatialized. We can provide more reference files upon request.
Related Documents:
A document on our high level site vision: PLHI Regenerative Research & Indigenous Training Center_Spring 2025 (1).pdf
Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R4W2xXX3NUrwmIWNVXE3O4r4iH0NrVOb/view?usp=share_link
Our most recent Piikani Lodge Impact Report: Piikani Lodge Impact Report 2018-2024.pdf
Link: https://issuu.com/piikanilodgehealthinstitute/docs/piikani_lodge_impact_report_updated_2018-2024
TIMELINE & COMPLETION DATE:
Please provide a preliminary design delivery schedule and note how these deadlines will be met.
We would like to begin the collaborative process in April or May 2026, with an initial site visit in June 2026.
Masterplanning materials generated in phases with contract complete by Spring 2027 or sooner.
Roundhouse building construction documents prepared for construction in Summer 2027 or sooner.
RFP DEADLINE: April 3, 2026
PREFERENCES: Native American owned businesses, or with Indigenous leadership/principles and must have been in operation for at least three years.
PRICES
Please include approximate travel costs for your team to visit the site with our team over multiple days, at least twice in 2026.
Fixed Price Contract: All prices are fixed for the duration of the contract and are not subject to escalation for any cause unless “additional services” and associated costs are discussed ahead of time. Please include foreseeable ad service costs into your proposals. Payment of the total fixed bid price shall constitute full payment for performance of the work and covers all costs of whatever nature incurred by the Contractor in accomplishing the work in accordance with the provisions of the contract.
NOTES & REQUIREMENTS:
This RFP is being sought strictly for the purpose of acquiring proposals for services available with an estimate of their corresponding costs and should not be construed as intent, commitment, or promise to acquire services, supplies, or solutions offered.
Unless an executed agreement is in place with parties of both signatories, no contract will result from any response to this RFP. Do not submit confidential information. Piikani Lodge will not pay for any information herein requested nor is it liable for any cost incurred by the vendor.
The contractor shall maintain architectural licensure and liability insurance appropriate to the scope of work agreed upon. It is not necessary to maintain licensure in the state of Montana, but please describe your relevant experience and current licensure. This will be addressed with each bid in accordance with the agreed upon scope of work (i.e. if construction costs are included, or other).
