'We know it's lonely': Manitou Asinîy Stone to be returned to Indigenous stewardship
Manitou Asinîy, also known as the Creator's Stone or Manitou Stone, will be reclaimed by Indigenous communities and returned to its original location.
The Stone is a 145-kilogram iron meteorite that landed billions of years ago near Iron Creek, Alta., close tor the Saskatchewan border.
A new co-stewardship was announced Friday, between the Alberta government and the Manitou Asinîy-Iniskim-Tsa Xani Center, an Indigneous-led not-for-profit organization, outlining a plan to build a new prayer centre to house the stone where Indigenous communities can better access it.
Indigenous People consider the Stone to be a sacred living being and that protected the buffalo herds of the prairies. It also served as a gathering place for prayer and healing by many Indigneous communities.
"It was prophesied that the rock, if it was moved, that we would suffer," said Elder Leonard Bastien, Manitou Asinîy-Iniskim-Tsa Xani Center chair.
The Stone was first taken in 1866, by a Methodist missionary. Basiten said smallpox followed, and soon the buffalo herds would disappear.
"Since then, a lot of things have continued to keep us down," Bastien said.
Manitou Asinîy was held in Ottawa until 1972, when it was loaned to the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM). Discussions around the reclamation of the Stone began between the RAM and 33 First Nations in Alberta and Saskatchewan after it was officially transferred in 2001.
Friday it was announced that the Stone will be moved to a new prayer centre, a geodesic dome built to be open to the sky from where Manitou Asinîy fell.
"I’m at a loss for words about how much I appreciate what has happened today," Bastien said. "This is a day of celebration, let’s celebrate this together in our heart and spirit and look forward to a better tomorrow."
Blaine Favel, former Chief of the Poundmaker Cree Nation, said the new facility will cost $7.5 million to $10 million and will be designed by Douglas Cardinal. The centre will provide a space for ceremony and give Indigenous communities greater access to the Stone.
Land negotiations and fundraising are currently underway, Favel said.
"I think of the many hundreds of millions of billions of dollars that were invested into the destruction of our culture – I think to preserve our culture deserves a few million to keep us around and to keep our elders to transmit our sacred teachings to our next generation," Favel added.
Premier Jason Kenney said it will take years before the centre is ready for the Stone to be moved in. He added the Alberta government has spent $500,000 on seed funding for the planning stage with more to follow.
"There will be significant additional funding to follow to help the centre finance the construction of both the prayer centre and eventually the interpretive centre," Kenney said. "And you better get a transcript of this so you can show my successor and my successor’s successor what I just committed to."
Until it can be moved, Manitou Asinîy will remain at the RAM on a bed of soil from the original site, which was collected in 2017. The Stone is in a pre-admission area of the RAM, so anyone can come view it, with smudging ceremonies held twice a week on the advice of Elders.
"To us in the Blackfoot worldview it’s animate, so it’s alive and we know it’s lonely, we know it wants to come home to our people," said Nicholle Weaseltraveller, an Elder's daughter who received recognition for her dedication to visiting the Stone.
"I know when they built this facility they made it more open and more accessible but you can still feel that heaviness because it is an animate object for us and the prophecy states that if it was taken we’ll see hardships so now we’re hopeful that things will change."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
TSB concludes investigation into cause of London, Ont. freight train fire
More than two weeks after a freight train with several railcars ablaze rolled through the heart of the Forest City, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has concluded its investigation.