Alberta to transfer land with historic cemetery back to Enoch Cree Nation
A small parcel of land in west Edmonton containing a historic cemetery will soon officially belong to the Enoch Cree Nation.
In a ceremony Monday, the provincial government announced it approved the land transfer as a step toward true reconciliation.
Located near Anthony Henday Drive and south of Whitemud Drive, the land belonged to the First Nation until the federal government encouraged its surrender in 1908.
Chief Billy Morin said the cemetery, where ground-penetrating radar surveys have shown includes 80 sites, has the graves of Enoch Cree Nation's first leaders, including Lazarus Lapotac, Enoch Lapotac, and Tommy Lapotac.
Their descendants were in attendance at Monday's ceremony.
"They're our founding family," Morin said. "Our founding chiefs of the Enoch Cree Nation."
"We are all standing where our ancestors are buried," he added. "In a lot of ways this site was forgotten, but now we are here."
Morin approached the city and provincial governments last year with the proposal to transfer the land.
"It took collaboration between those two levels of government to say, the right thing to do is to give Enoch Cree Nation back their land," he said.
Rick Wilson, Indigenous relations minister, said the province has never approved this type of land transfer before.
"Most of us pass this spot," Wilson said. "You are driving on the highway and you do not take notice about what is back here."
Councillor Sarah Hamilton, Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson, Chief Billy Morin, descendants of Enoch Cree Nation's founding chiefs, and members of the First Nation pose for a photo following a land transfer announcement on Monday, June 20, 2022 (CTV News Edmonton/Brandon Lynch).
According to the province, now that the land transfer has been approved, full legal ownership of the parcel is still in the works, with an expected timeline of "a few months."
Prasad Panda, infrastructure minister and acting transportation minister, said the surrounding lands will remain publicly owned, with the province managing the "transportation utility corridor around the cemetery in the best interests of Albertans."
"For the people of Enoch Cree Nation it's a deeply spiritual place," Wilson added. "This parcel of sacred land beneath our feet should never have been removed as reserve land.
"So it's only right and it's only fitting that this parcel of land and the sacred burial site be returned to the Enoch Cree Nation."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.