By Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs - (@morrittjacobs on Twitter)

Blackfoot Ceremony to Celebrate Launch of Archaeological Project

Apr 29, 2016 | 4:22 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Elders, grandmothers and officials from three southern Alberta Blackfoot Nations gathered with staff from the City of Lethbridge for a ceremony in the Oldman River valley on Friday.

The ceremony was to initiate a Traditional Knowledge and Use Assessment (TKUA). The TKUA is the first undertaking of its kind for Lethbridge, created to promote greater understanding of First Nations heritage and traditional land use.

While there is on-going heritage preservation work which identifies and protects resources in the area, the TKUA aims to provide City planners and decision-makers with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions about land use, growth and conservation that is in line with the City’s obligations under the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP).

Neil Mirau, Senior Archeologist with Arrow Archeology, voiced his excitement and said that there are hundreds of historical sites across the city. The firm hopes to find religious, ceremonial and battle sites, along with stone circles and remains of tee-pee rings where Blackfoot people had encampments.

The project will also take an inventory of traditional indigenous plants used for diet and medicinal purposes.

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Mirau said he hopes that the public interact with the field workers on job sites as they will be very present in the community over the next 10 months.

“One of the project’s initiatives is to increase awareness of Blackfoot sites and culture in the city. Most non-Blackfoot people don’t understand the complexity and depth of the history. I think having more awareness will increase the communities comfort in interacting with Blackfoot people and visa versa, so the more people that ask us the better,” he said.

Perry Stein, Community Planner for the City of Lethbridge, said that the purpose of the ceremony was to ask permission to work in the area on traditional lands.

The RKUA was developed in line with the Truth and Reconciliation Commision’s Calls to Action, as well as the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“This is about building relationships. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission challenges all levels of government to tell more complete and honest histories. In Lethbridge, this means we need to better understand the culture and presence of our First Nation neighbours in this region for millennia,” Stien said.

Warren Drunken Chief, from the Siksika Nation Chief and Council, agreed that the ceremony offers the opportunity to bridge understandings between the City of Lethbridge and the Blackfoot people.

“It’s a huge part of the education, there are a lot of foreigners coming into Lethbridge and Alberta, so it’s nice to give our history on where we come from,” he said.

Blackfoot elders said the project is not only about education, but also a means for providing youth with jobs and informing Blackfoot people in Lethbridge of their culture, so they can go out into the workforce and obtain greater employment. 

Officials offered prayers to bring work to Blackfoot people and newly graduated First Nations individuals with the project.

Mayor Chris Spearmen, acknowledged the need to amend this problem, admitting that Blackfoot people have not had the same opportunities as non-Blackfoot people in the city.

Spearmen closed the ceremony by asking elders to work with the city, educating politicians on how to move forward respectfully.