(Terra Lennox-Zepp/Facebook)

By Derek Craddock

EARTH DAY

First Nations students clean up P.A. for Earth Day

Apr 22, 2022 | 6:00 PM

Dozens of students and their families commemorated Earth Day by cleaning up some areas of Prince Albert.

The First Nations University of Canada Students’ Association took part in the cleanup, picking up trash from downtown Prince Albert and Kinsmen Park.

President of the Students’ Association Krysta Hatfield said they started and ended the cleanup by honouring their Indigenous traditions, including a smudging ceremony for the participants.

“Our elder Florence came out and she uses like a really nice sacred fan and everything, so she was individually kind of performing the ceremony on each person before we went off into small groups and cleaned up different parts of the neighbourhood.”

City Councillor Terra Lennox-Zepp also joined in the cleaning which Hatfield said was very welcoming.

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Lunch for the volunteers was provided thanks to the Prince Albert Grand Council’s Moose Lodge.

“We had so much food so we ended up dropping off three big boxes of chilli and sandwiches and drinks and everything over to Stepping Stones when we were done just to keep paying it forward in the community,” said Hatfield who said they were able to donate $1,000 to Moose Lodge.

While the cleaning was done to mark Earth Day, Hatfield noted there was another reason, to help support one of their Elders.

“She’s actually a water protector so we do a lot of ceremonies regarding water protection, earth protection. Earth Day was definitely the trigger but it’s also Ribbon Skirts Month as well but really just kind of an opportunity to get people out together in a safe way during COVID.”

She added it was also a way to escape the stresses of final exams, which many are taking over the next week or so.

Overall, the cleanup was a success.

“We put about 10 huge bags of garbage in our big, huge dumpster on our roof there.”

—

derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @pa_craddock