(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

special ceremony

City honours National Indigenous Peoples Day

Jun 21, 2019 | 2:13 PM

“As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows,” reads the text of Treaty 6, signed in 1876 to represent an accord between the Canadian Crown and various First Nations.

“Those treaties were created for all times,” said Tanya Schur, Community Facilitator with the Urban Aboriginal Voices Society, who was one of many on hand for a ceremony at City Hall on Friday marking National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Mayor Tara Veer read a proclamation, which was accepted by Elder Lynn Jonasson, while community members filled out the gallery and a Red River jig was performed by Laura Allard in the entranceway while drums banged.

Schur said relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members continue to improve.

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“Today in Red Deer is really special partly because we get to do the proclamation inside City Hall. It really signifies the work of reconciliation that the Indigenous community and City of Red Deer have been doing over the past four or five years,” she said.

“It’s something that’s showing the community that the City is serious about making relations right. We are working on a number of different projects, but being able to sign a protocol agreement (in 2017) and now work on operationalizing that will ensure the Indigenous voice at a governance level will have input on things like policy development.”

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Schur said those voices have already had an impact, for example ensuring the City’s smoking bylaw allows for pipe ceremonies to take place in any municipal facility, a right not afforded in every community.

There is also Indigenous representation on the local housing framework and advisory group, as well as several others.

Brian Lizotte, President, Metis Nation of Alberta Local 492, said it isn’t just about promoting culture, but knowledge as well.

“Being proactive in the community is of big importance. We all have common goals and common associations. Open up and try to educate yourself on who’s who,” says Lizotte. “First Nations and Metis are distinct peoples, as well as Inuit, so try to understand cultures, people and how things affect them.”

On the thought of having an annual holiday to recognize Indigenous history — be it in June or in line with Orange Shirt Day each fall — he adds, “Absolutely, because all the Indigenous people have roots here. They find remnants and bones from thousands of years ago but supposedly it was discovered 500 years ago.

“For the original people and original settlers of this land, it probably would be a good idea to have a national holiday in recognition of that.”

A bill to designate Sept. 30 (Orange Shirt Day) as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, was put on hold until next year because of the Senate’s adjournment ahead of the fall federal election.