"Sacred land" or kihciy askiy, Cree (pronounced key-chee-ask-ee) is a $6.5-million project that began construction last fall in the Whitemud Park and plans to open in 2023.

Project Manager Lewis Cardinal says that “it would be a place for indigenous peoples from the city to gather for ceremonies and cultural activities.”

During the construction stage of the project, they will access the area for ceremonies and gatherings to help serve the 60 Indigenous organizations and agencies that serve the people in the Edmonton area.

Cardinal says that “this project is centered around the families and more importantly the youth to reconnect with their sense of identity, culture and ceremony and mother earth.”

Each of the 60 Indigenous organizations that are a part of this project have cultural programs attached to them; the plan is to make the space accessible for them. The elders, along Cardinal, also have plans to provide public programming, to offer access to a sweat lodge and to participate in a talking circle that involves topics on history and medicine walks—where people are taught about the stories of the plants discovered on the walks on the Whitemud nature preserve.

Cardinal also wants to have programs for non-indigenous peoples to participate in to help them learn about the history and the culture.

The elders of the project, along with Cardinal, say that they hope this will inspire other cities and communities across the country to also partake in similar ideas like the Sacred Land project.

“We feel that’s our gift to Canada, that our people need,” Cardinal says.

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