Media are invited to attend an event to introduce a Survivors Flag to Banff Town Hall and commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation activities.
Location: Banff Town Hall, 110 Bear Street
Date: Friday, September 29, 2023
Time: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Photo and interview opportunities will be available.
- Master of Ceremonies – Corrie DiManno, Mayor, Town of Banff
- Treffrey Deerfoot, Ceremonialist and Elder, Blackfoot Confederacy
- Violet M. Meguinis, Elder, Tsuut’ina Nation
- Wesley Jackson, Elder, Îyârhe Nakoda Nation
- Councilors Dacster Amos (Bearspaw), Charles Mark (Chiniki) and Desi Ear (Goodstoney)
Other speakers:
- The Honourable Karen Sorensen, Senate of Canada
- Mr. Blake Richards, Member of Parliament, Banff-Airdrie
- Dr. Sarah Elmeligi, Member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly for Banff-Kananaskis
Guests include:
- Banff Town Councillors
- Sal Rasheed, Superintendent, Banff National Park
- United States Ambassador to Canada, David Cohen
- United States Consul General in Calgary, Holly Waeger Monster
The Town of Banff sits on Treaty 7 lands, the traditional and ancestral territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Iyarhe Nakoda Nations, and Tsuut’ina Nation. This land is traditionally, spiritually, and culturally shared with other Indigenous Peoples including the Métis People of Alberta, the Ktunaxa, and Secwépemc Nations. Indigenous Peoples have lived in this area, for more than 10,000 years.
Last Friday, September 22, was the 146th anniversary of the signing of Treaty 7 – the last of the numbered treaties made between the Government of Canada and the Plains First Nations.
The Survivors Flag Ceremony on September 29 is only one step in the direction of reconciliation. Having the Survivors’ Flag on display in Town Hall is a symbol of our commitment recognizing our shared past. This is a way of remembering the Survivors affected by the intergenerational trauma of residential schools and all the lives affected by it.
The lowering of Town Hall’s National Flag of Canada to half-mast in advance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is in memorial of all who didn’t come home from residential schools and the Survivors of the trauma caused by residential schools.
For information and activities to memorialize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, visit banff.ca/NDTR