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An unfortunate confrontation is developing in Saskatchewan, and it may not even be necessary.
This past week the RCMP were called to Beardy’s First Nation because of a complaint that a group was gathering to hold a Sundance.
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Cuthand: Reaction to Sundance ceremony was pure politics Back to video
It was like a scene out of the past. From 1885 to 1951, the Sundance, a religious practice from the plains and the Potlatch, practised by the people on the west coast, were both banned. This was a time when the government and the churches conspired to force the Indigenous people to accept Christianity.
Of course, the traditional practices of our people did not go away. When people are repressed it only makes them stronger and more determined.
On my reserve one time in the 1930s, the RCMP came out and dismantled the Sundance lodge, which was a sacrilege. The next year the ceremony was moved to the trees down by the Battle River. An RCMP officer was dispatched from Cut Knife to locate and put an end to the ceremony. Nobody knew where it was, and he received no directions. Finally, he got his car stuck in the mud and there was nobody around to help him. He ended up walking back to Cut Knife.
