Beaver Lake Cree Nation Chief Gary Lameman, members of Beaver Lake council and students from the community joined representatives of Lac La Biche County and Portage College for a special ceremony to raise the Treaty 6 flag at the college’s Lac La Biche campus on November 26.
The event included speeches, a traditional prayer, as well as lunch.
Lameman said the flag-raising ceremony is significant because it helps to bring about acknowledgement to the community about the Treaty 6 history, the people and the future.
He noted that while the treaty was signed in 1876 and Alberta officially became a province in 1905, the provincial flag is a common sight, whereas the Treaty 6 flag is barely seen.
“There should be acknowledgement of the treaty territory the municipality is in,” he said, explaining that Lac La Biche County is in a region that is overlapped by Treaty 8 and Treaty 10. The hamlet of Lac La Biche itself is part of Treaty 6 territory.
Events such as the flag-raising event, Lameman continued, also go a long way in raising awareness and educating the public. By attending the ceremony and hearing about it, he added, more people will have an opportunity to see the flag and ask questions about it.
“Hopefully, along with this flag-raising is going to come education about Treaty 6 and what it really means to the country of Canada…not just the province of Alberta, the country of Canada,” he said.
Among the dignitaries in attendance at ceremony were Nancy Broadbent, president of Portage College, and Kevin Pare, the Ward 2 councillor for Lac La Biche County.
Broadbent said this is a significant milestone for Portage College.
“For the college, it’s really important to acknowledge that after all this time we finally have a flagpole where we can raise a Treaty 6 flag to remind our staff and students and all the visitors to the campus that they are on Treaty 6 territory,” she said.
The college, she said, has a long, very proud history of partnering with Indigenous peoples, adding that it was the efforts of Indigenous students and community members that helped to keep institution’s doors open in the late 1960s with a sit-in protest against government funding cuts.
The flag, she continued, will be forever flying at the campus so people remember that they are on Treaty Six territory.
“We’re very happy to be celebrating that today,” she said.
Pare said the flag-raising is important for Portage College as it continues to build Indigenous relationships. The college, he explained, continues to host events and raise awareness about Indigenous relationships.
“This is just another step towards that,” he said.
