At long last, the Treaty 6 flag is flying permanently at North Battleford City Hall.
The flag-raising ceremony took place at 10 a.m. at City Hall Thursday, and was attended by civic officials, Indigenous leaders, elders and veterans and a large gathering of onlookers there to witness the historic occasion.
“I’m really proud to be part of this community today,” said Mayor Ryan Bater.
“It’s because all of you came out today. This is an amazing crowd and we really wanted this to be something the community got behind, and I think we’ve achieved that. Today is a historic day, we will all remember this for a very long time.”
The decision to fly the Treaty 6 flag permanently at City Hall was made last July in a resolution passed at City Hall.
But the flag raising did not happen right away. Mayor Bater noted the City wanted to consult with Indigenous people first and had been working with the elders’ group of Battle River Treaty 6 on how to best commemorate the occasion.
The decision was made to raise the flag at a ceremony on June 21, 2018, to coincide with National Indigenous Peoples Day in North Battleford and across Canada. The annual celebrations include a well-attended pancake breakfast hosted by Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre, as well as live music from Indigenous entertainers.
The entertainment program at the annual event at the parking lot on 12th Avenue and 102nd Street was halted briefly in the morning to allow people to attend the flag-raising at City Hall on the next block.
“We wanted to do this in a respectful way and a way that engaged the community,” said Bater.
Bater cited the importance of educating people about Treaty 6.
“Before there was a city, or a town or a Saskatchewan, even before there was a Canada, this was the traditional territory of Indigenous peoples. People who lived here and through the signing of the treaty, agreed to share the land in a spirit of harmony and partnership. And for that we are forever grateful.”
The Treaty 6 flag has been flown at City Hall before, but only on a temporary basis on a flagpole reserved for special occasions, events or civic proclamations.
This time, a new flagpole has been mounted outside City Hall where the flag will be flown permanently.
The Treaty 6 flag has been placed on the pole nearest the entrance to the building, and flies alongside the flags of Saskatchewan, Canada and the City of North Battleford.
“The flag that flies here today is a symbol of the future,” said Wayne Semaganis, chief of Little Pine First Nation.
Semaganis called it a good step forward, as was a meeting held last week between the City of North Battleford, Town of Battleford and neighbouring chiefs.
“As we move ahead, I am glad to see the leaders of Battleford and North Battleford meeting with the chiefs of the surrounding reserves, because there is a lot of housekeeping we have to do. There has been a lot of neglect in our relationship…. We’ve been excluded for far too long and it’s time that we step up as good neighbours, because basically that’s what treaty is, it’s a good neighbour policy to acknowledge how we’re going to live together, how we’re going to share the future.”
