Local Church, Star Blanket clear the air after misunderstanding over Lebret sign

Since Sunday, the “Welcome to Lebret” sign has remained in its original white.

Back in late-May, however, it had a different look.

Someone had repainted the sign orange, in what the neighbouring Star Blanket Cree Nation thought was a show of support. It is continuing its ongoing ground penetrating radar search of the old school grounds of the Qu’Appelle Residential school — Canada’s last operating residential school.

Sunday, however, the sign was repainted white thanks to four unidentified individuals.

The Archdiocese of Regina spoke to CTV News Wednesday, with its spokesperson saying it had not given any of its members at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church directives to repaint the sign white.

Since CTV News’ story Monday, the local church and Star Blanket have begun its talks in how to move forward in a healthy way together. The relationship between the parties has had its issues in the past, according to members of Star Blanket.

The local church reached out to the Cree Nation almost immediately following the publishing of the story.

On Thursday, a Facebook post by the Star Blanket IRS Ground Search Updates page said the local church representatives and its leadership met and “cleared the air,” along with any misunderstandings between the parties involved.

“There is clear support from the church and we are happy to walk in partnership with them moving forward,” the post reads.