The northern section of the newly completed Rotary Trail stretches along the banks of North Saskatchewan (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Tides of change

Year in Review: Revitalization on the riverbank

Dec 22, 2019 | 12:00 PM

The past year saw rejuvenation and plans for new developments along the water’s edge in downtown Prince Albert, but residents also said goodbye to a longstanding riverbank sentinel.

An example of the sort of interpretive signage that’s planned for the Prince Albert riverbank is this picture and info on a stand at the Waskesiu mini golf course. (Council agenda package/City of P.A.)

New signage

In June, the city approved six new interpretive signs on the history of the area’s first inhabitants. The new signage will be installed along the riverbank and provide information about the First Nations groups and Métis people who settled along the water.

“Telling that history and having community pride is important,“Judy MacLeod Campbell, the city’s arts and culture coordinator told paNOW following the council go ahead. “Almost 42 per cent of our population is Indigenous and to have their history told is important.”

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Canada Day celebrations return

In July, P.A. Multicultural Council moved its annual Canada Day celebrations back to the riverbank from Kinsmen Park.

“People have been asking us for this and we want to join the campaign of hosting activities and events along the river because there’s such a rich history,” Executive Director Michelle Hassler told paNOW.

The area played host to two stages for entertainment, food trucks and a number of revelers despite stormy weather.

(File photo/Glenn Hicks paNOW Staff)

Iconic artifact finds a new home

During a season of riverside revitalization, it was also announced this summer that an longstanding landmark at the water’s edge had to be removed for to safety reasons. The city announced that due to rotting at the base, the Eaglechild Totem Pole would be taken down.

The pole was been carved and gifted to the city by a group of Saskatchewan Penitentiary inmates in 1975.

James Sutherland and Dale Stonechild led the carving of the totem pole inside Saskatchewan Penitentiary (City of Prince Albert/council minutes)

Nearly 50 years later, its lead carver James Sutherland was dead, and it was decided the pole would be laid to rest near the penitentiary.

That was until its assistant carver’s sister reached out to the city.

Darlene Stonechild wanted to bring the pole back with her to her First Nation east of Regina.

“We can display it in Okanese where his home is. This is his homeland, where his relatives are, and his grandchildren can be proud of something,” she told paNOW.

The pole was removed at the beginning of September.

Following a ceremony where various community dignitaries spoke, Stonechild transported the pole by flat bed truck back with her to Okanese.

“For myself and my relatives – Dale’s relatives – it’s a lot of pride. It’s his art that’s coming home, a piece of history, his history is coming home,” she said.

Multilingual signage

River Street was also chosen as the first project for an initiative that will see various places in Prince Albert given Indigenous names.

Expected in the coming months, a new signpost will be erected at the intersection of Central Avenue and River Street.

The top will read River Street in English, followed by translations into six local Indigenous languages. Three blades will feature Swampy Cree, Plains Cree and Woodland Cree, while another three will have Dene, Michif and Dakota translations.

A new life for old buildings

Funding depending, two iconic buildings could be coming back to the riverbank. The Prince Albert Historical Society is collecting donations to reconstruct the dilapidated and near 150-year-old Nisbet Church and Blockhouse.

The hope is to put the wooden structures just west of the museum, near where the totem pole once stood.

“The log church was built by Rev. James Nisbet in 1872 and was also a school,” society president Connie Gerwing told paNOW. “The Blockhouse was originally a stable for P.A.’s first lawyer and then, during the 1885 conflict with the Métis, it housed military equipment.”

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alison.sandstrom@panow.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom