Indigenous and non-Indigenous people will come together for a powwow in Cochrane for the first time at the end of September in what organizers hope becomes an annual affair.
Promotional material for the inaugural event on Sep. 30 calls this, “an example of what can happen when communities work together, learn from each other, and take shared action on reconciliation with positive, forward-thinking dialogue about inclusion, mutual understanding and respect.”
“Through song and dance, our communities celebrate Indigenous culture and honour this land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange among the Îyârhe Nakoda peoples.”
Town of Cochrane Coun. Susan Flowers has been working along with a number of organizers for about six months to make the powwow a reality.
“I'm just really excited to hold this in Cochrane because it hasn't happened before and it's time we built on our relationships with our Stoney Nakoda Nation neighbours,” she said.
Flowers said Stoney Coun. Krista Hunter was instrumental in getting the powwow off the ground.
“Working together with them has been a real learning experience and I'm learning about the history and different ways of living that they have compared to us, and I want to build relationships that are ongoing,” Flowers said. “And the plan is to educate and reduce racism.”
NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
September 30 is also the federally recognized day of remembrance to honour the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools.
The day also remembers the tragic effects residential schools had on survivors, their families, their communities, and speaks to the ongoing impacts through intergenerational trauma.
It is also referred to as Orange Shirt Day. Go to orangeshirtday.org for more information.
HISTORY OF THE STONEY NAKOTA NATION
The Stoney Nakota have continuously used, occupied and possessed their traditional lands since well before contact with European settlers. Their traditional territory ranged from the Great Plains where they hunted buffalo to the Rocky Mountain foothills and watersheds where they harvested, fished and hunted big game, and over the mountain passes to the British Columbia interior.
The Stoney Nakoda Nations (SNN) comprised of the Bearspaw First Nation, Chiniki First Nation and Goodstoney First Nation, were signatories to Treaty No. 7 on September 22, 1877 at Blackfoot Crossing.
At present, the Stoney Nakoda live primarily on six reserves; Stoney Indian Reserves #142, #143, #144 at Mînî Thnî (Morley) located 65 km west of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway between Calgary and Banff; Rabbit Lake Indian Reserve #142B northwest of Mînî Thnî (Morley); Eden Valley Indian Reserve #216, located 120 km south of Mînî Thnî (Morley) near Longview; and the Bighorn Reserve #144A located 265 km northwest of Mînî Thnî (Morley) near Nordegg. As of 2021, the population of SNN was approximately 5,397.
Throughout Stoney traditional territory, countless geographic landmarks, rivers, mountains, hills, migration trails, valleys and flats all bear longstanding Îyârhe Nakoda names – names such as Minnewanka, meaning “sacred waters”, Kiska meaning “big horn sheep” or Îyâ Mnathka meaning “flat faced mountain” known in English as Yamnuska or Mount John Laurie.
HISTORY
In 1926 the Morley Residential School (previously the McDougall Orphanage), opened southwest of the hospital on the Stoney Nakoda Nation. In 1951 the David Bearspaw Day School was opened and amalgamated with the Residential School. In 1962 it was reported that all Stoney children between the ages of 6 and 15 were in the school.
Parents were concerned about the conditions at the school. Allegations of severe corporal punishment, physical abuse and sexual abuse were made. The community lobbied the federal government and hired lawyers to protect their children. Eventually the school was closed in 1969.
STONEY NAKODA NATIONS – TOWN OF COCHRANE PARTNERSHIP
On March 15, 2022, elected leadership and senior staff from Bearspaw First Nation, Chiniki First Nation, Goodstoney First Nation, Town of Cochrane, and staff from the Stoney Tribal Administration gathered for an inaugural meeting, In the spirit of building a new relationship based in truth, understanding and respect.
Since then, the participating governments and organization have met monthly for Working Group meetings and bi-annual workshops. They are supported by the First Nation-Municipal Community Economic Development Initiative (CEDI) program until 2025.
The program supports these communities to strengthen their government-to-government relationships, and to find areas of common interest and opportunity in community economic development.
Since 2013, CEDI has supported First Nations and municipalities to develop mutually beneficial partnerships and plan for collaborative community economic development initiatives.
Organizing committee members for the powwow included: CEDI Group Members, Bearspaw First Nation, Chiniki First Nation, Goodstoney First Nation, Town of Cochrane, Marissa Lawrence, Carmelle Nepoose, Stoney Tribal Administration (Tonya-Lynn Hodder Lisa Wynands, Reg Fountain), First Nation Committee Members (Coun. Krista Hunter, Coun. Jordie Mark, Coun. Rod Hunter), Town of Cochrane Committee Members (Coun. Susan Flowers, Chantal Barber, Communications Team), and the team at SLS Centre.
SLS Centre is a partner and host to this event along with a long list of sponsors.
The powwow is free, and runs from 1 pm to 8 pm on Sep. 30 at the SLS Centre.
An Indigenous artisan market will be available in the gymnasium of the SLS Centre.
Food trucks and vendors will be on-site throughout the event. Commemorative orange shirts will be available for sale on site, while supplies last.
Free COLT bus service will be offered between The Station and SLS Centre from 11:30 am (leaving from The Station) and 8:20 pm (leaving from SLS Centre). Parking is available in the lot across from The Station at Cochrane Crossing (360 Railway Street), next to the Cochrane Public Library (corner of Railway Street W and Grande Ave). On-site parking at SLS Centre will be limited and subject to availability. Event attendees are encouraged to take advantage of public transportation.
Note: The history surrounding the residential school in Morley was taken from “The Children Remembered” – research sourced from the website thechildrenremembered.ca, which is sponsored by the United Church of Canada. There is a potential for inaccuracies or deficiencies in the written history as others may recall it.
