Former Regina campground to be turned into Indigenous ceremony site
King’s Park Campground in Regina hasn’t seen campers in a long time. However, life might soon return to the space in the form of an Indigenous ceremonial site.
After a moving delegation from Elder Harry Francis, the recommendation was to move forward to permanently designate the space for ceremony.
“Right now, I’m so happy I don’t know how to explain it, because it’s something that a lot of us always thought about, but working on forming a partnership with the city and the city staff … at the back of my mind is, ‘Is it gonna fly?’ I was always worried is this gonna fly or is it not gonna fly,” he said.
It did in fact fly in the form of a unanimous vote from those in attendance at city council on Wednesday.
“We have a lot of urban Indigenous who are looking for connection to identity and ceremony and their culture. We have an elder’s advisory council now to administration as well as council that is saying this looks like a good idea, we got a plan for implementation over five years,” Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said following the decision.
Elder Francis additionally explained that the space, while designated for Indigenous ceremony, is open to everyone, a lesson of inclusion which he learned from his grandfather and other community elders during his youth.
“They always said, ‘We welcome all human beings because all human beings are children of the creator, children of God and that if they come with us and they wanna follow our way, we are to accept them” Francis said.
The five year plan of the site’s development includes eight sweats in year one and collaboration between council and the elder’s advisory committee to determine rules for the space.
“Because we’ve started off in a good way with a pipe ceremony and a sweat, with that continual elder’s advice coming in to us that we can set something up that will be enduring,” Masters said.
Now, the motion will be moved along for council approval at their upcoming meeting on May 8.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta border: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Anglers reel in 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off coast of Florida: 'She found my bait'
A group of fishers said it took roughly 20 minutes to reel in this 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off the coast of Florida.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Canadian convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer sentenced to 30 years
The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.
NEW What a wildfire survivor says she regrets not grabbing before leaving home
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.