Calgary Police are investigating the vandalism of a Blackfoot headstone in Nose Hill Park over the weekend.
The incident took place on one of the park’s peaks, on what Blackfoot elders describe as a marker, it has also been described as a wheel.
“The importance of building this marker that we can unite with one another, that we can perceive one another, that we can respect one another, that discrimination is abolished,” Elder Calvin said. Williams.
Giovanna Longhi told Global News on Monday that she and her husband were walking their dog near the site on Friday afternoon when they saw two women inside the circle giving the impression they were praying.
Longhi said she and her husband also saw that some of the rocks had been moved and that there were red crosses placed between the rocks. He said they approached the women, asked them what they were doing there and explained the importance of the rocks to Blackfoot. .
Longhi said it didn’t seem like the women believed what they heard and eventually she and her husband went down the hill to a police station to report what they saw.
“To degrade it, to destroy it seemed simply wrong. It is an opportunity to shed light on this site, which is for all Calgars,” Longhi said.
“It’s a position you can use, but you have to respect it. You degrade it, you reposition it, you put devoted markers on it.
The stone marker was first installed in a rite in 2015 to represent classic Blackfoot territories.
According to Williams, those markers can be seen in all Blackfoot territories, from the North Saskatchewan River to Wyoming.
During the 2015 ceremony, Williams explained, the elders made many prayers to make sure it was a position that revered and welcomed everyone.
“They prayed to bless Nose Hill, and they prayed for all humanity, adding to the citizens of Calgary, that we had a long smart road and a life to the fullest,” Williams said.
A key component of that day’s message to create an opportunity for understanding among all people, now and in the future.
Asked what his idea of the incident was, Williams said: “It is unhappy to hear that one or more people committed this very destructive and evil act. This shows that they want prayers. They want understanding. “
“The rite that took place at this site was completely ignored,” he said.
Williams also expressed his sadness at the story, such movements have been committed against indigenous peoples and makes them sacred.
“Respect will have to be taught. They were not informed at the time. They were not informed that today. Hopefully in the future we can teach other younger people to respect each other and appreciate the environment that is placed,” Williams said.
This sadness is what roy M echoed. Weasel Fat, president of Red Crow College.
“I can’t perceive the thoughts of the other people vandalizing those sites. “
Weasel Fat said several Indigenous sites in Alberta have been destroyed by industry or new developments.
“So, what is left will have to be and is ancient history. This is Canada’s story,” Weasel Fat said.
“This is what we want because indigenous history has been largely ignored. “
Longhi said he thought it was an opportunity for schooling and awareness.
“It’s not just a bunch of random shaped stones. There’s a lot of thought, culture and history, so it’s about respecting that,” he said.
Williams said he would rather see the site remain in its herbal state in the future than see a sign to identify the marker.
He and Weasel Fat say that with more educational opportunities across generations and cultures, other people can come to recognize those markers by who they are.
He said they will probably deliver the stones as they were and go through some other ceremony, “but the other people who don’t cooperate will start learning to use the values given to humans to become human. “