Ministers take part in Indian Village ceremony

The opening ceremony at Stampede’s Indian Village included visits by both federal and provincial ministers of Indigenous relations.

Carolyn Bennett, Crown-Indigenous relations and northern affairs minister, was back for her 13th year for the opening ceremony. Alberta’s Indigenous Relations Minister Richard Feehan was there for the first time.

Before the ceremony got underway, the ministers went on a tour of two teepees belonging to two First Nations.

The first teepee was Mike Meguinis’s of the Tsuu’tina Nation. His family has had their teepee on the Stampede grounds for more than 30 years. It took him and his family nearly 40 minutes to set up the structure that they’ll be living in for the next 10 days.

Inside the teepee, his daughterin-law Trissa Meguinis is beading traditional leggings for her young daughter and his son is designing a logo for a family member, which he explained is meant to look like a teepee before it’s erected.

Bennett and Feehan spent nearly half an hour in the teepee, speaking with the family about the traditional clothing and artwork laid on the floor. Bennett spoke intimately with Violet Meguinis about empowering young Indigenous women and encouraging Canadians to have a better understanding of Indigenous culture.

The ministers then went on to visit the teepee of David Bearspaw Jr. of Stoney Nakoda First Nation.

“It’s such a positive experience and such a good opportunity to learn something new,” said Feehan.

The teepees set up across Indian Village represent five First Nations, with each family able to trace their roots back to an initial invitation to set up a teepee in 1912 by Guy Weadick at the very first Stampede.

Bennett said the teepee tours and opening ceremony — where each teepee family was introduced and several members of the community

It’s important for the First Nations children to grow up proud of who they are and to be able to demonstrate that.

performed traditional dances — is a way for Canadians to better understand and appreciate Indigenous culture.

“It’s important for the First Nations children to grow up proud of who they are and to be able to demonstrate that,” she said. “And in terms of their language and culture and dance, all of it, that’s what protects them in their journey. But also this is an exercise in reconciliation because non-Indigenous people get to learn and it’s a matter of it being a safe place to ask questions.”

On Thursday, the federal government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Blood Tribe, which Bennett said is another step toward reconciliation.

“We now have over 60 tables of people embarking on this journey through self-determination and the memorandum of understanding allows the Blood Tribe to articulate which are their priorities in that journey and then we come to the table to discuss them,” she said.