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The Athabasca RCMP Detachment held its first Indigenous Culture Day at the detachment Sept. 22, transforming the detachment parking lot and green space into an opportunity to bring communities together, learn about local Indigenous culture and network with their neighbours and friends. Local detachment members, ‘K’ Division brass, students and members of the Bigstone Cree Nation, including elder Victor Gladue, marked the day with a pipe ceremony inside the RCMP teepee, which was set up on the grounds, especially for the day, along with a display from the Calling Lake Historical Society, and an RCMP vehicle students were allowed to decorate with water soluble paint. Pictured, Elder Victor Gladue, along with Const. Kyle Hotchkiss, who MC’d the event, just before 20 or more people gathered in the teepee to take part in a pipe ceremony led by Gladue, who accepted an offering of tobacco to conduct the ceremony. Pipe ceremonies are sacred events where an Elder offers prayers and ignites tobacco in the pipe which is then passed around the circle so each can either touch or smoke from the pipe.
Chris Zwick
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