The Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan received a walking tour of the Doukhobor Dugout House Historical site as the site celebrated Friendship Day on July 5.
Bernadette McIntyre, the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan had never visited the historical site near Blaine Lake, and was excited to do so.
“It’s quite amazing,” McIntyre said. “It is absolutely fantastic, with the people, the volunteers and everybody that’s involved in recreating this and making sure we understand the history.
“It’s also a tourism experience, which is just what we want in Saskatchewan. We want people to come to Saskatchewan and experience all the wonderful things here.
McIntyre and husband Rich McIntyre were welcomed by founder Brenda Cheveldayoff and Alexander Kalesnikoff in the Russian language.
The walkabout of the site included Minister of Advanced Education and MLA for Saskatoon Willowgrove Ken Cheveldayoff along with members of the public and Doukhobor Elders.
The tour began with an exploration of the historic ravine where the original dugout homes are preserved. After traveling back up the hill, Minister Cheveldayoff and McIntyre turned the soil with the group on the Doukhobor Plough. This was a symbolic stop where people are invited to experience turning the soil—a tribute to the Doukhobor commitment to pacifism.
The next stops were at the Doukhobor Prayer Home and overnight guesthouses, these stops reflected the community’s spiritual and communal traditions.
During the stop at the Prayer Home, Elder Jeannette Stringer led a prayer before the tour. The guesthouse stop was at the Tolstoy House named for Leo Tolstoy.
McIntyre said she has enjoyed serving as the King’s Representative in Saskatchewan since she began her current role on Jan. 31.
“It’s been absolutely amazing. It is a huge privilege and honour to be the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan. The people are absolutely amazing and I knew that. I’m just getting to meet even more amazing people than I had before.
“(It’s good) to be able to further promote our province and encourage the people of Saskatchewan to do better and to celebrate all their wonderful successes,” McInytre added.,
She said that the opening of the Dugout House site for the season was a huge celebration for Saskatchewan people and the province’s history.
The origins of the Doukhobor Dugout House date back to the middle of the 17th century, when a peasant group split from the Russian Orthodox Church on moral and liturgical grounds.
They believed that God did not dwell in the church, but in each human being. An Orthodox archbishop referred to them as Doukhobors, meaning “spirit wrestlers”. While he meant the term to be derogatory, the group embraced it.
Centuries later, many of their descendants still live by the slogan promoted by one of their leaders, “toil and peaceful life.” Most Doukhobors in Canada no longer live communally, but all practice pacifism and many are vegetarians.
“The Doukobor history is heavy and it shows their resilience,” McIntyre said. “To have spent five winters on the prairies in the dugout houses is unbelievable.”
The site is supported by both the province and the country through Tourism Saskatchewan and a National Historical Site designation.
“I think just a great big thank you to the Cheveldayoffs for everything they’ve done on their land and how they’ve activated the community and the province,” McIntyre said. “It’s a National Historic site, so they even have that national recognition and all the work they’re doing with Tourism Saskatchewan is really making this a wonderful educational and fun experience for anyone who visits.”
Founder Brenda Cheveldayoff said that the Dugout House site is a great way to bring people together to learn about the culture.
“I think it’s important for all of Saskatchewan because we need to be able to come together and that’s basically what it is, it is important for everyone in Saskatchewan staycation. It’s about travelling and staying in our province. This is a good way to do that and celebrate and try to get people to share in that here,” she explained.
Cheveldayoff said the site is about celebrating but also memorializing the Doukabour culture.
Following a traditional Doukhobor lunch of Borscht, bread cooked in the Stone Oven and tarts on the river view patio there was a cultural program. Elder Jeannette Stringer performed “Toil and Peaceful Life” a song embodying Doukhobor values of labour and harmony.
The ceremony included welcome greetings from Brenda Cheveldayoff, a Greetings Letter to be read by Alexander Kalesnikoff from Prime Minister Mark Carney, greeting from McIntyre and greetings from the province by Ken Cheveldayoff.
Following the presentation, a draw was made for two winners of an overnight guest stay in the guesthouses.
“We wanted to feature the overnight area—giving a couple or friends or whoever an overnight to stay here all night, all they had to do is come on friendship day, bring a friend and enter a contest,” Cheveldayoff said. “It worked out great, so somebody gets to experience this.”
She said it was nice to have last year’s winners do the draw for this year’s overnight stay. Cheveldayoff said they’re had multiple Lieutenant Governors visit the site since 2005, including three trips by previous Lt.-Gov Russell Mirasty.
“It’s nice to be able to show them (the site),” Cheveldayoff said. “I think it’s important for the province. To me, this is all of Saskatchewan’s. This isn’t my place. This is everyone’s place.”
She reminded everyone to check the events calendar because there are new events this year. One of the leaders of Doukhobor culture in Canada died in a boat explosion and Cheveldayoff wants to include this history. They also have plans to a Murder Mystery Cold Case event based on the life of Peter Verigin.
