For those of us who have not yet left on our Calgary and Saskatoon ALSO trips, today we had the opportunity to learn about the land that we live on: Treaty 6. We had three guests come visit from Mennonite Central Committee, Leonard Doell, Don Peters, and Rick Guenther, and they were all able to share some of the experiences they have had with the Aboriginal community in this area. Leonard talked to us first about the Young Chippewayan band, and the history between them and the first settlers that arrived in this area. He explained how the government drew out a “Mennonite Reserve” between Warman and Rosthern, but when the Mennonites came, they ended up taking the Laird area as well, which amounts to 28,000 acres.
Taking this land is what started the tensions between Aboriginal and settler communities, and because of this, each community has been wary of the other for generations. That is why, with the help of some of the Chiefs from the Young Chippewayan band, the community organized a gathering in 2006 which would include talking to one another, singing, and bonding without having to worry about labeling people as “the other”. These gatherings sparked relationships between the Young Chippewayan, Mennonite, and Lutheran communities, and they are now working together to try and settle land claims with the government, but more importantly, form relationships so that people can just talk.
After learning a little about the background of the situation, we all drove out to “Stony Hill”, or in Cree, “Opweshemoe Chakatinaw”. We drove past the road sign that was put up after a petition was sent into the Laird RM Office, which RJC students signed last year. When we got to Opweshemoe Chakatinaw, we stood around the fire pit and sang “The Gift”, which is an Aboriginal song that symbolizes communities coming together to celebrate the gift of tradition. This site, we were told, used to be the St. John’s Lutheran Church, but was also a very sacred place for the local Aboriginal population as it was on a path leading between Fort Carlton and North Battleford.
After soaking in the bright sunshine and thinking about all the diverse history that has occurred in that place, we returned to school to enjoy a meal of Prairie Stew and Bannock, which reminds us that these stories aren’t just in the past, but affect us every day, and it’s up to us to build bridges where boundary lines have been drawn.
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In the afternoon, the grade 12s further explored local history by going to the Station Arts Centre and Gabriel Dumont’s Bridge.
