#Manitou Asinîy

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The Royal Alberta Museum is repatriating an artifact sacred to Indigenous people in Alberta and Saskatchewan more than 150 years after it was taken by a missionary.

Premier Jason Kenney on Friday signed an agreement with Leonard Bastien, elder and chair of the Manitou Asinîy-Iniskim-Tsa Xani Center, to move the Manitou Asinîy or Manitou Stone from the Royal Alberta Museum to a new prayer centre close to the stone's original location near Hardisty, Alta., about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

The agreement — announced on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — launches a process that has been under discussion for years.

Bastien said the agreement to return the stone to its home is significant and cause for celebration.

"It'll give us direction and a new pathway to moving forward," he said.

The Manitou Stone, a 145-kilogram meteorite, originally landed on a hill overlooking the Iron River near Hardisty. Indigenous people believed the stone protected the buffalo herds that provided them with sustenance.

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#Manitou Stone #First Nations #Indigenous #cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics #canadian news #canadian #Alberta #Manitou Asinîy

[kayla1993-world]

Premier Kenney commits to returning Manitou Stone to Indigenous peoples

A meteorite sacred to Indigenous peoples in Alberta is returning to its historic location in central Alberta. The Manitou Asinîy, also known as the Manitou Stone, is a 145-kilogram iron meteorite that fell from the sky near Hardisty, Alta. It is considered a healing stone by Indigenous peoples and is credited with protecting the buffalo herds of the northern plains. However, in 1866, the stone was stolen by the Reverend George McDougall, a Methodist missionary. It was sent to Ontario and remained there until 1972 when it was placed on long-term loan with the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) at the request of the Alberta government. On Friday, on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Premier Jason Kenney announced at the RAM that through a joint stewardship agreement, the Alberta government will cede ownership of the stone to the First Nations peoples and it will return to its historic location. “It will be returned as close as possible to the place where it lay for millions of years, to the place where it attracted generations and generations of indigenous people to sacred ceremonies,” said Kenney, who wore an orange-shirt pin. “To the place where it represented the life of the plains Indigenous people and their connection to nature, and particularly to the buffalo.” Elder Leonard Bastien of Manitou Asinîy-Iniskim-Tsa Xani Centre said historically, the stone has been a connection to how Indigenous peoples thrived and moved forward with buffalo culture. "Today it’ll give us direction and a new pathway to move forward, whatever that may be," he said. The province is also committing to building a prayer center, to be designed by Cree architect Douglas Cardinal, to be primarily used by Indigenous people to "reconnect with the sacred traditions of their ancestors." An interpretive center will also be built near Hardisty so visitors can learn more about the stone and what it represents. “The facility will cost between $7.5 to $10 million and will be a geodesic dome, open to the sun and night,” said Blaine Favel, former chief of Poundmaker Cree Nation. Kenney noted that it will likely take a few years before the construction is completed and the stone will be moved to its new location. Nevertheless, he called Friday’s announcement a “hugely important step forward.” “I want to give thanks to the Creator for helping us finally right the wrong of the theft of this stone and the theft of the culture and the way of life it represents,” Kenney said. At a separate press conference on Friday honoring the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson unveiled plans for a reconciliation garden and memorial on the Alberta legislature grounds. It is intended as a space for reflecting, healing, and honoring residential school survivors. It will include a medicine wheel, willow trees, footprints representing the children who didn’t make it home, and a permanent residential school memorial. “All these features have been carefully thought out with the guidance of the elders,” Wilson said. “As the garden grows, I hope relationships grow and with it, as we work together on this journey of reconciliation, it’s our beacon of hope and healing.”