Edmonton council renews truth and reconciliation pledge on Treaty 6 Recognition Day

Edmonton acknowledges Treaty 6 Recognition Day City councilors and Indigenous leaders gathered Friday morning to commemorate the day Treaty 6 was signed.

EDMONTON — Edmonton city councillors and Indigenous leaders on Friday commemorated the day Treaty 6 was signed on Aug. 23, 1876, between the Plains, Wood Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, and the Crown at city hall Friday morning.

The ceremony at city hall consisted of raising of the Treaty 6 flag, a pipe ceremony, drumming, and a focus on healing from the trauma caused by residential schools.

“Today is a significant day not only in the history of the City of Edmonton, but the Treaty 6 territory,” said Treaty 6 grand chief Vernon Watchmaker. “There was a long history before the city was born.”

Mayor Don Iveson presented a proclamation to renew the City of Edmonton’s memorandum of cooperation, which was signed between the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations and the City of Edmonton in 2012.

He called the memorandum a concrete pledge that led to Treaty 6 Recognition Day as well as a renewed relationship of honour and greater understanding between the City of Edmonton and the Indigenous peoples of Treaty 6.

“Today is a time for all of us who call this place home to renew our pledge individually and collectively, to continue to learn and explore that truth, and at the same time to foster healing and reconciliation through action,”Iveson said.

The mayor added the truth includes a legacy of trauma and loss created by residential schools, which many have come to acknowledge with recent discoveries of unmarked graves near former residential schools throughout Canada.

“We mourn with communities still grieving the loss of their beloved children, this year especially.”

He says the city has been working to revitalize the memorandum of cooperation signed between the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations and the city. The revised memorandum is planned to come forward to city council on Sep. 7.

Treaty 6 Recognition Day has been celebrated in Edmonton since August 2013.