SASKATOON — Elder Harry Lafond gave the Cree words tansi, kinanâskomitin and wâhkôhtowin that could help everyone to get along, treating each other equally regardless of colour and race.
Lafond, from the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, was among the speakers during the proclamation ceremony declaring March as Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Month on Wednesday, March 1, at the City Hall Council Chambers.
He later joined Deputy Mayor and Ward 9 Councillor Bev Dubois, People Bridge Advocacy Founder and Executive Director Senos Timon and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chair Amanda Guthrie in raising the Cultural Diversity and Relations Flag at the nearby Civic Square.
Councillors Hilary Gough (Ward 2), David Kirton (Ward 3) and Zach Jeffries (Ward 10) were also present to witness the event along with close to 50 people.
Tansi is a friendly greeting, kinanâskomitin means that one is grateful to meet you and wâhkôhtowin can be translated into kinship or a state of everyone being related to each other. Lafond said taking these three words to heart would improve our understanding of each other.
Lafond, who gave the opening and closing prayers, said the land where Canada is has been blessed for thousands of years as a place where a diverse group enjoyed and benefited from including different tribes of Indigenous Peoples.
“The City of Saskatoon can learn from that history. Every individual that lives in the city can learn from the history of their people. We’ve worked very hard in my community to reach back into the minds of our grandmothers and grandfathers to understand what being Cree is as a starting point. In our teachings, we are talking about wâhkôhtowin as an important concept that carries us into relationships in places like Saskatoon,” said Lafond.
“We’ve been in the city since 1988 and in a very concrete way. Over all those years, Muskeg Lake Peoples have talked about Saskatoon as their city because part of our community lies in the middle of the city. What has made this relationship work is to be able to view people as people and to work at it. It is not something that comes automatically. It is not something that you can assume exists. It only works and becomes real if you work at it.”
He added that he witnessed how the city transformed over the years — growing, changing and becoming more diverse — as more people from different races, ethnicities and backgrounds settled to call Saskatoon their new home.
Dubois said the City Council had been observing March as Cultural Diversity and Race Relation Month since 1990. The entire month includes the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21), which commemorates the 1960 Sharpevlle Massacre in South Africa, where police opened fire against a group of peaceful protesters denouncing apartheid.
“The City of Saskatoon has a cultural diversity and race relations policy, which is reviewed and evaluated to determine its success. The City of Saskatoon recognizes that Saskatoon has always been a society composed of people from different backgrounds and this diversity will continue,” said Dubois.
“The participation and contribution of all citizens in the development of our community are vital to meeting future challenges. We are also proud of the vision statement that the City of Saskatoon has: The City of Saskatoon works with community organizations, businesses and labour, the government, and other stakeholders to create an inclusive community.”
