Continued strengthening of relationships between the city and the Indigenous community were in the spotlight as part of a National Indigenous Peoples Day ceremony at Lethbridge City Hall on Wednesday.
John Middleton-Hope, Deputy Mayor of the City of Lethbridge says the day is an opportunity to continue dialogue around the relationship the city has with Indigenous peoples.
“It’s the kick off to Indigenous Peoples week nationally, but here in Lethbridge it has a particular importance because of Treaty 6 and Metis Nation Number 3,” Middleton-Hope adds.
One of the speakers at the ceremony was one of the Directors of the Blackfoot Confederacy Tribal Council, Kirby Smith, who mentioned that National Indigenous Peoples Day is one to celebrate as well as acknowledging the importance of sharing the land, acknowledging each others histories and a reminder to continue to work together.
“We need to continue to look at some of the challenges that face our communities and to try to overcome some of the difficulties that our people are experiencing, homelessness, opioids across the board are now problems for all of us and I think it’s important that days like this and the times, remind us how important it is to work together,” says Smith.
Indigenous Relations Specialist with the City of Lethbridge, Echo Nowack, says while National Indigenous Peoples Day is about learning the culture, celebrating the culture, and the diverse different nations that live in Lethbridge, it’s also an important opportunity to continue to bring awareness to several issues being faced by the Indigenous community.
“It’s not just one day, and it’s not a day where you put on your orange shirt or you put on your red dress and then forget about it, it’s an issue with us,” says Nowack.
“People are going missing everyday and remaining missing and we need to call upon the government to really do something about it. It’s great to highlight those days and it’s great to remember, but it’s an issue that needs to be solved and it’s only solved when we work on it everyday.”
Those looking for information on being a Reconciliation Ally can find a toolkit on the city’s website.