The City of Prince George celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day by holding a ceremony in Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park.
Along with the host First Nation, the new Pavilion in the park was officially unveiled after years of work.
“It’s one of those things that we worked very, very hard on when we first were elected and the Chief and I met on a number of occasions, we’ve had staff to staff meetings over the last three or four years, we’ve had tri-party and tri-government meetings [including the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George],” says Mayor Lyn Hall.
Architectural drawings were developed beginning in 2007. Since then, the former Fort George Park was renamed to represent the Lheidli T’enneh. Chief Dominic Frederick acknowledged the work over the last decade to work towards reconciliation.
“There is a lot of dark stuff that went on within the city and between our people and we want our kids to not become part of that,” he explains, saying he views their progress with the City as a prime example for other bands across the country.
“Although we are doing it for ourselves and our people, it doesn’t mean that other communities can’t follow suit. We want to be an example, not only for other bands but for our kids and our future generations.”
Lheidli T’enneh, community members unveil photos at new Pavilion in Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park #CityofPG #NationalIndigenousPeoplesDay @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/cxiHuFqFbH
— Matt Fetinko (@mattfetinko) June 21, 2018
Hall echoes what Chief Frederick believes, saying the relationship now between the City and Lheidli T’enneh is stronger than ever.
“The work that had to be done in creating partnerships to make this happen was significant and that was really the key piece of this,” he explains.
“We want to be seen as an example across the country of what you can do in strengthening partnerships.”
Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park will be hosting festivities all weekend to celebrate First Nations.
The Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park Pavilion opened today. As part of the ceremony, photos of children and elders were unveiled and musical performances were presented. The Pavilion is a place of gathering & celebration. Drop by for the events this weekend: https://t.co/0Zab7PNZIJ pic.twitter.com/Oyr7r71WK0
— Prince George, BC (@CityofPG) June 21, 2018
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