Plans for memorial in Rossdale underway

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Plans for a memorial to be set up at a recently discovered burial site at Edmonton's Epcor plant are underway.

Lewis Cardinal, the chairperson of the Edmonton Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee, said the committee still does not know what type of memorial it will be, but it will commemorate the graves of the people that have been identified as buried there.

Various lists were used to put names to the remains found at the site. Records were obtained from the Jesuit priests, the Catholic Church, researchers with the City of Edmonton, as well as from some of the committee's own researchers.

"It is a unique site. It is a burial site that consists of the final resting place of both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The memorial will, of course, list their names, but the actual design itself is in the process right now and once it's decided, construction will begin. Hopefully by about early September we should know what the design will be," he said.

The timeline to have the memorial set up is not carved in stone. The committee is seeking input from the stakeholders' groups and the City of Edmonton, said Cardinal. "And there will be a celebration once the memorial is set up, with a number of different ceremonies being held."

He said the area around the burial site is not closed off yet and that is a sore point for most of the Aboriginal community and for people that have relatives buried there.

"That is totally understandable and the committee is concerned about any further desecration or disruptions of the remains there. They have to be taken into consideration, but we are still waiting and concerned. A full study has not been done, so we are asking the city to move cautiously until it is done and to work with all the stakeholders. And they've been graceful in working with the Aboriginal community and they've displayed patience in moving with this whole process because this whole process has slowed down their whole processes as well. They are working with us and they are proving to be consistent partners," he said.

"Ideas for the memorial include people talking about a cairn or a tipi to represent the Aboriginal people. Lots of different ideas, but we are going to leave that in the artists' hands. We are working with other folks as well, which consist of the French Canadian League and the Rossdale Flats Community League," he said.