Cultural events in Little Red gather students and youth
The third annual edition of the cultural gathering held on the Upper Plains of Little Red River Park took place earlier this week, with around 300 guests arriving per day.
Prince Albert Indian and Metis Friendship Centre organized the event to celebrate indigenous culture, and to involve Prince Albert’s indigenous and non-indigenous youth in the festivities, with the four day gathering ending off with an intimate honouring and remembrance of Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day on Wednesday.
“We want to get recognition for our culture,” said Prince Albert Indian and Metis Friendship Centre Executive Director Kevin Ray.
“We want to bring it back, especially for the city folk, and we’re on city land right now.”
The Upper Plains in Little Red River Park in the City of Prince Albert was designated as ‘Wapka Sa Cistinna’ cultural grounds for First Nations ceremonies, and other indigenous practices and gatherings in 2025, addressing Truth and Reconciliation’s 94 calls to action in Kistapinanihk (Prince Albert).
This year’s gathering unfortunately did not feature its signature ceremonies and ceremony lodges that were present in previous years, as the protocols travelled further north in Saskatchewan due to the changing seasons.
Despite this difference, the gathering still made space to hold the protocol of having pipe ceremonies every morning, for protection and to uphold the traditional ceremony routines and protocols that come with a large gathering like this one.
Each day, alongside the daily pipe ceremonies, two sweat lodge ceremonies took place, on the east side of the grounds.
Future plans for the grounds include a powwow arbour, and a winter sweat house, to perform sweat lodge ceremonies throughout the colder months.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all provided each day by the Friendship Centre team, staff, and volunteers, with the help of youth in meal preparations. Soup, stew, wild meat, bannock and a daily fish fry were all on the menu throughout the week.
Elders tents with coffee, seating, and shade were available everyday with storytelling, oral traditions and knowledge being passed onto the next generation of youth.
Traditional teachings and demonstrations took place every day that featured hand drum and rattle making, drum teachings, medicine picking and teachings, art therapy, paddle making, traditional teachings on commercial fishing, fish and wild meat preparations, bannock making and traditional spiritual healing with horses.
King and Queen Trapper Events also took place during the gathering, with nail pounding, portage races, log throwing, animal calls, and rope winding.
Other events and entertainment like talent shows, last-man standing contests, traditional big drum and hand drumming music and songs, and a community feast and traditional pichiwin (outdoor rounddance) took place throughout the week.
Different Prince Albert schools brought their students to attend the events, learn about the culture, and be present in the annual gathering.
Singers Little Bear, Chastin Dustyhorn and a youth from the Prince Albert Indian and Metis Friendship Centre’s Gathering Knowledge From The Four Directions annual cultural gathering at Little Red River Park’s Upper Plains sing an honour song during their Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day segment of the agenda on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
When talking about the turnout of the week, Ray explained how important it is to teach the youth and students of Prince Albert indigenous culture.
“Yesterday we had over 70 students come out, I just want to say students, because it’s all about the kids, and teaching the kids,” Ray said.
He also said the event brought an estimated total of over one thousand visitors to the grounds this year.
The last day of the gathering was cut short due to windy weather interfering with the structural integrity of some of the larger tents that housed the youth and traditional teaching events.
Wednesday was also National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, where communities across the country commemorated indigenous history and the legacy of indian residential schools.
“We also wanted to recognize the children we lost in a demonstration of culture,” Ray said.
The Friendship Centre team prepared an orange heart in the middle of the grounds, where youth, allies, and indigenous relatives gathered to listen to an honour song, witness a men’s traditional dance and men’s grass dance performed by two indigenous youth from Prince Albert.
