People from all over Treaty 6 territory and Treaty 8 gathered in Edmonton's river valley on Friday to mark the grand opening of "kihcihkaw askî-Sacred Land," the first urban Indigenous celebration grounds in Canada.
The $6.51 million project—which is located in Whitemud Park at 14141 Fox Drive NW, Edmonton—features circular areas for tipis and sweat lodges, a pavilion with washrooms and indoor gathering areas, and a natural amphitheater. It began construction in 2021 after the grounds were formally blessed. They will become home to ceremonies, intergenerational learning, sweat lodges, pow wows and more.
Lewis Cardinal, project manager of the Indigenous Knowledge & Wisdom Centre and "kihcihkaw askî-Sacred Land," spoke to CFWE about why the grounds were located where they are.
"For an Indigenous person who wants to go to ceremony, they have to leave the city. It doesn't make a lot of sense for us to try to do that when we have so much healing to do. [We thought] why can't we do it right here?" he asked.
Nature comes to life at "kihcihkaw askî-Sacred Land". Photo by Ryan Hunt
Indigenous celebrations have always been hidden away as laws like the Indian Act forbid them to take place. Now that those laws are long in the past, Indigenous celebrations are still having a hard time coming into the light. "kihcihkaw askî-Sacred Land" brings these traditions right into the big city, for all to see.
"It's all about connection and healing. They say that a community is never truly finished until its church, or its mosque, or temple, or cathedral . For us, this is all of those things", Cardinal added.
The main pavilion at "kihcihkaw askî-Sacred Land". Photo by Ryan Hunt.
Cardinal, along with all of the elders who attended the opening ceremony, said that they hope this idea spreads across the country, as Edmonton is the first to incorporate Indigenous celebration grounds within city limits.
"It's a vison that the elders had for the entire country, hoping to inspire other cities to do the same. We've gotten call from four major cities; Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Calgary. They're asking 'how did you do this? We would like to do something like this as well.' This is what we really need to see. Most of our people in the urban centers need this connection," Cardinal added.
Listen to the full CFWE interview with Lewis Cardinal below (interview by CFWE's Jacob Leblanc):