 |
||
 |
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
By Andréa Ledding
For Eagle Feather News
Back-To-Batoche 2010, commemorating the 125th anniversary of the battle, was a truly once in a lifetime event – but many people plan to return.
“The weather co-operated, the upgrades to the site were significant, and people had a good time,” noted Bob McLeod, Western Region II Area Director for Métis-Nation Saskatchewan, adding the entertainment was just as good as Craven, but at 10 per cent the cost.
Upgrades to the site included additional washrooms/shower houses, free wireless, and more food concessions than ever – usually worked by volunteers from locals like Leask, Yorkton, and CUMFI.
Other than a few tense moments on the last day, when a bank of clouds came from the west and it looked like a tornado might just drop out of the clouds before the final procession to the cemetery, the weather couldn’t have been much better.
On the Sunday, the Veteran’s Memorial Gardens were opened – and the veterans were honoured by everyone, including Shannon Loutitt’s youth honour runners – many of whom completed the trek from Saskatoon to Batoche in moccasins the day before.
The reconciliation ceremony in front of Batoche cemetery was well-attended and filled with beautiful moments – including Andrea Menard’s acapella rendition of “Peace In the Valley” and a group hug from descendants of the first casualties of 1885, Assiwiyin, Isidore Dumont, and McKay.
As the names of each of the fallen were read, descendants stood and everyone else paid their respects. The new gates to the cemetery, beautifully inscribed in French and Michif, were read aloud, and commemorative medals were passed out to everyone in attendance, before returning to the Back To Batoche festival site.
The permanent main stage building was added onto late in the week with a temporary outdoor stage for some of the bigger acts, including country star Michelle Wright, who drew a huge crowd Saturday night.
Descendants of the Canadian, First Nations and Métis casualties of 1885 shared a hug of reconciliation at the Commemoration and Reconciliation Ceremony. (Photo by John Lagimodiere)
Eagle Feather News
is a division of
ACS Aboriginal
Consulting Services
AUGUST, 2010
Volume 13, Number 8