Medicine Hat designates Indigenous gathering space at Police Point Park
The roughly 100-square-foot site beside the Nature Centre will host ceremony, teaching and reflection, with a ground blessing set for Aug. 28.
Why it matters
The designation gives Indigenous residents a permanent, dedicated space for ceremony and cultural practice within a major city park.
The City of Medicine Hat, in partnership with the Miywasin Friendship Centre, has designated an approximately 100-square-foot Indigenous cultural gathering space at Police Point Park, located beside the Nature Centre on the facility's west side. A sign will mark the location, and a sweat lodge structure may occasionally be erected there depending on the needs of the Indigenous community.
The space acknowledges the historical and ongoing relationship Indigenous Peoples have with Police Point Park and the surrounding landscape, including traditional gathering, harvesting and ties to the South Saskatchewan River. Miywasin Friendship Centre cultural connections coordinator Mekethia Fairbanks said the space reflects the Blackfoot teaching of Isspomaanitpiisinii, meaning to help one another and work together toward a common goal.
The site will be officially designated following a ground blessing led by Elder Warren One Gun on Friday, Aug. 28 at 11 a.m., an event open to the public. Attendees are asked to bring a chair or blanket and to respect cultural protocols and signage.
The project was developed through collaboration between the Miywasin Friendship Centre, the City's Parks and Recreation Department and its Indigenous Relations Office. City Parks manager Orlando Whetter said the initiative reflects Medicine Hat's continued reconciliation efforts. After the blessing, the space will be available for booking for cultural purposes through the city's Parks and Recreation website.
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