Members of the Drumheller RCMP detachment, town council and staff, and Indigenous leaders and liaisons were present at the blessing ceremony of the Treaty 7 Territory, Land Acknowledgment plaque held Wednesday, June 16.
The plaque, which will be displayed in the Drumheller RCMP office, acknowledges and recognizes Drumheller as being located on the traditional grounds of Treaty 7 First Nations--the Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), Piikani (Peigan), Stoney-Nakoda, and Tsuut’ina (Sarcee) peoples. Land acknowledgments is one of 94 recommended calls to action within the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Elder Ken Cardinal and Staff Sergeant Ed Bourque both spoke on the importance of educating on the tragic and horrific role residential schools have on Indigenous peoples. The last residential school, the Gordon Indian Residential School, in Punnichy, Saskatchewan closed in 1996.
The blessing and land acknowledgment came following the discovery on Thursday, May 27 of the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, B.C.

Students at Greentree Elementary School celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, June 21 with several activities focused on honouring, celebrating, and learning about Indigenous peoples.
The school was decorated with hanging orange heart decorations throughout the hallways.
Grade 5 students Elliot Gamble and Drew Hatch told the Mail students decorated the main foyer with a poster emblazoned with “Every Child Matters” along with a total of 215 orange figures. These figures represent the 215 children found in a mass grave at the former grounds of the Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia in May 2021.
One of the planned activities for students was a ribbon tying ceremony. Classes gathered individually in the outdoor classroom to tie orange ribbons to the fence.
Along with the ribbon tying ceremony, students also read books about Indigenous peoples and learned about residential schools.
Although Orange Shirt Day is held annually on September 30, students and teachers were welcomed to wear orange shirts as part of the celebrations, in honour of residential school survivors and in recognition of the harmful impact of residential schools.