By Bryan Eneas

Peter Ballantyne urban members honour their Elders

Dec 14, 2016 | 5:36 AM

An appealing aroma filled the air around Parkland Hall last night as Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation urban residents used traditional food to honour their Elder Council and Elders from P.A.

“They took that role as an Elder Council to listen to us as urban members and listen to our concerns,” Bella Ratt, one of the organizers said. “For a year they battled in court, and then a decision was made; we all felt it was the right thing to do because our Elders need to be honoured and respected.”

For the last year, members of the Elder Council travelled great distances to attend court hearings. Complainant Warren McCallum, who served as urban councillor for Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) before being removed by the PBCN Elder Council in 2015, alleged the elders overstepped their legal authority by removing him from elected office without following proper procedure. McCallum requested the court find the decision to remove him from council to be unlawful.

PBCN Chief Peter Beatty stopped into Parkland Hall, where he joined his urban members for the feast. He said events like this are great to bring the urban community together, and the fact the gathering featured traditional fare was a treat for the Elders.

After the food was blessed, Beatty thanked all those who came together for their efforts organizing the gathering.

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According to Rene Ballantyne, another organizer, some of the meats were donated by residents of One Arrow and Stanley Mission. For him, the main goal of the feast was to let the Elders know how much they mean to the community.

“For our Elders, we still know we have respect for them,” Ballantyne said. “They still have power, Elders. They still have to be respected.”

Ballantyne said there were no hard feelings about the court decision among the membership who turned out.

PBCN urban members will be organizing a Christmas feast and gathering Dec. 22.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas