Deer Lodge Centre pipe ceremony puts reconciliation at forefront

Pipe ceremony and feast at Deer Lodge Centre looks to change the narrative of an old story with a goal of reconciliation (Dan Timmerman, CTV News)

WINNIPEG — In the spirit of reconciliation, Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg held a pipe ceremony and retold the old story of an old resident bear, but this time respecting an Indigenous perspective.

“It’s a symbol of our work with them and starting that journey,” said Kevin Scott, chief operating officer of Deer Lodge Centre.

Deer Lodge Centre is named after and located on the site of the Honourable James MacKay’s home. MacKay was a Metis politician who played a key role in the land agreements of Treaties One through Six, and was also a conservationist and kept several animals in his home.

One of those animals was a bear.

After his passing, the bear stayed on as the property transitioned into a roadside inn.

As the story goes, the bear was mistreated by the inn owners and used as entertainment for its customers.

The bear and its story were immortalized by the centre with a replica of the animal on the site, but the animal’s significance in Indigenous culture was never acknowledged.

Neither was how the retelling of the story, done many times over the years, could have been deemed disrespectful or offensive to some people.

“What we’re doing today is to really change the story around our relationship with the bear as opposed to the entertainment value,” said Scott.

“It’s quite disrespectful to individuals who see the bear as a spirit creature.”

Friday’s pipe ceremony, led by Indigenous elders, looked to acknowledge the potential negative impacts the bear’s story had on Indigenous staff, patients, clients and residents.

It will also help guide the centre’s leadership on how to build better relationships with Indigenous communities.

“What we’re working on today is that first step forward in how we work with the Indigenous community and making the organization and the care we provide inclusive,” said Scott.