A small gathering of members of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation came together May 10 at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site in Banff.
Led by elder Roland Rollinmud of Morley, the group conducted a re-enactment of a traditional First Nations’ ceremony held at the site.
“Today, in ceremony, my part for my people from the reserve — which is something I was appointed by the spirits to conclude – was a connection that was broken off in the ’70s,” said Rollinmud, following the ceremony. “But it wasn’t really broken, it was put to the Park, and now it’s making a comeback of re-enactment, so we can all work together, now that Banff town has opened to where it is today.”
Traditionally, the nation would gather at the site of the spring and draw water from it four times a year, he said, prior to the coming of the park.
“This is a re-enactment of what our ancestors used to do and a final closure of the friendship that I made with Parks Canada and everybody that’s included in there,” he said. “My part is done, and in another hundred years, it’ll be done. My part, the mission that I was to do, is completed.”
A renowned artist, Rollinmud was commissioned to produce a large painting, which now adorns the entranceway to the spring, alongside another large painting of the European discovery.
Rollinmud’s painting shows First Nations’ traditional usage of the spring.
“I’m excited, this is a dream — when I attended the Banff School of Fine Arts, every time I walked in here to take a break from the school, that other painting always inspired me,” he said. “I wanted to do something like that, and now this is a reality of the dream that I had.”
Following a two-year closure to renovate the site, the Cave and Basin officially re-opened last weekend.
