Commemoration

To ensure that we honoured everyone’s feeling of safety, the commemoration event, the 1940s Canteen party that followed, and the community block party that took place Saturday and Sunday were all held out of doors and thankfully, other than for excessive smoke on Sunday afternoon, the weather cooperated.

The afternoon of September 9th, 2022, was warm and sunny, making it the perfect day for a commemoration ceremony.

The passing of Her Majesty Elizabeth II the day before the ceremony left everyone’s hearts feeling a wee bit heavy and subdued. The mood was somewhat pensive.

Canadian First World War Internment Camps Display

On this very special day, we remembered the atrocities of the Canadian First World War Internment Camps, honoured our Second World War Ukrainian Killed in Action Soldiers, thanked our Frontline Workers and honoured the Residential School Victims of our region.

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(of a person or animal) able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. "babies are generally far more resilient than new parents realize"

The Canadian First World War Internment Camps left a legacy of beauty borne of pain. The internees of the First World War Internment Camps built our Canadian National Parks system.

Courted by the Canadian government to come to Canada and help create a food chain, these Ukrainian immigrants came with the promise of land and, in return, worked hard to produce the food Canadians needed. Then the First World War started, and these people, whose only crime was being born in Ukraine, were stripped of their land and possessions and worked at hard labour for 25 cents per day, building the national parks system.

The three main speakers for the commemoration of the Canadian First World War Internment Camps display were Reverend Matthew Drury, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy Of Edmonton, Grande Prairie Parish, and representatives of our sponsors for this permanent display;

Ilya Khineyko of the Ukrainian Pioneers Association of Alberta ukrainianpioneers.wordpress.com

Joseph F. Patrouch, Professor; Department of History, Classics, and Religion

The University of Alberta and the Canadian First World War Recognition Fund www.internmentcanada.ca

Each and every one of them spoke of the resiliency of the Ukrainian people, they did not dwell on the pain.

When we unveiled the Second World War Killed in Action soldier’s display which is sponsored by the Shevchenko Foundation, Father Drury and Ilya Khineyko spoke of resilience, determination, and the future being fought for at the time.

When we unveiled the frontline responder's plaque that honoured all those who worked tirelessly in our communities to keep this province and country moving during the pandemic, the discussion centred around the resiliency and often the creativity of everyone.

Locally, the pandemic saw seniors serenaded by musicians from the street. The seniors either stayed in their rooms with windows open or were brought outside and physically distanced in their wheelchairs and walkers. Joy was found amongst the fear, pain and sorrow.

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Last but not least was the Residential School Display and its unveiling and commemoration.

To a person, Grand Chief Noskey, Michelle Knibb from Kapawe’no First Nation, and President Ridsdale from the Metis Nation, all voices lifted the word 'resilient 'up.

Resilience, determination, resolve. These words exemplify the First Peoples and the Metis people.

We know that 106 children never made it home from Indian Residential Schools in our region. We also know that in Grouard, the Kapawe’no First Nation has done the ground penetrating work and identified another 169 potential graves. We know that Indian Residential Schools played a big part in Indigenous and Metis people becoming soldiers and risking disenfranchisement.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the pain and shame that comes with discrimination, the First Nations and Metis Nations have come to a place where they are taking their culture, traditions, language and, more importantly, their futures back. This display is supported by the “I Remember them Fund” nctr.ca/na-mi-quai-ni-mak-i-remember-them shows each residential school in our region and offers a list of those who never made it home.

We are committed to keeping this display panel up to date and reprinting it to reflect updated information once every three years or as needed.

If ever one ceremony that honoured 4 different displays could be unified in voice, ideology and mission, it was this day.

It is with gratitude that on behalf of the board of the Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association, which owns and operates Veterans Memorial Gardens & Interpretive Centre, I thank all of the dignitaries, so many who came from far away to help us commemorate these displays so that for years to come, the ability to educate one another on our mutual histories as Canadians is available to all who enter.

Special thanks to:

Grand Chief Arthur Noskey, Treaty 8

Michelle Knibb, Kapawe’no First Nation

Bill Chalifoux, Survivor, Residential School

President of Metis Nation Region 6, Carol Ridsdale

Aiden Goodswimmer, Drummer

Fiddler Del McCorriston

Fiddler Alex Kusturok

Elder Joey Farnsworth

Chris Warkentin, Tracy Allard - Queen’s death

Regrets: Commemoration Event Sponsors

Veterans Affairs - Commemorations Dept. Sandman Inn & Suites

Ole Smokes Coffee

Reverend Matthew Drury, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy Of Edmonton, Grande Prairie Parish

Ilya Khineyko of the Ukrainian Pioneers Association of Alberta -

Joseph F. Patrouch, Professor, Department of History, Classics, and the Religion University of Alberta and the Canadian First World War Recognition Fund

Gladys Blackmore, City of Grande Prairie

Tyler Olsen, MD of Greenview

Kevin O’Toole, City of Grande Prairie, CMTA Board

Sandy Neville, Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association

County of Grande Prairie No 1, Councillors Brian Peterson and Steve Zimmerman

Lt Phillips, DND

Lee Brachman, RCMP

If you are reading this magazine, chances are you love to explore Alberta. In your explorations, you may have questioned the origins of an old building, admired an old church, or engaged in a story of local history. There are so many ways we engage in Alberta’s past made possible by the many people behind the scenes who research, present exhibits and tell those stories.

The following three people were recognized for their work by being awarded the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal. Different organizations nominated each, and each has a unique way of sharing Alberta’s past.