Sun shines on Treaty Day celebrations

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The weather was perfect for a celebration and people frolicked in the sun by a lake that could only be described as breathtakingly beautiful.

The Cold Lake First Nation's 23rd annual Treaty Days celebration was held at the English Bay campground on July 11 to 13. Hundreds of people took part, enjoying the weather, the food and the competitions, which included among other things canoe races, a pie eating contest, a bottle sucking contest, and a tug-of-war.

"I think everything that happened during the celebration is so awesome, said Vi March, the chairperson of Treaty Days 2003. "It is so nice to have the community pull together.... I cannot describe how our great spirit, our heavenly father has provided this for us. A beautiful blue sky, nice weather, everyone happy, it was awesome to see that. There was an event for everyone," she said

She estimated that there were 1,000 people in attendance every day.

Tents and trailers dotted the area, and this year the community decided to add a Dene cultural camp where Elders demonstrated their skills in preparing fish and drying meat.

On Saturday evening, hundreds of people lined up to enjoy a traditional feast, which consisted of smoked fish, moose, soup, bannock and fruit.

Cold Lake councillor Brian Grandboise said that in the Dene language, Cold Lake was known as Big Fish Lake and it is still called that by the Elders. The community promoted a non-alcoholic and drug-free celebration because they want to promote a healthy lifestyle and create a good image for the youth, he said.

"We are working with the youth so that they can once again be reunited with the Elders. I noticed that for whatever reasons our social conditions have separated our youth and Elders. Originally the Elders were our teachers. They taught us a lot of basic things, like how to get along and respect each other. I think that is lost today, because the children are only learning from books, television or from the computers. It is something that we are trying to rebuild in our community," he said.

Panago Pizza workers, along with a number of other food vendors, were kept busy as they served cold drinks, pizza, hamburgers, coffee or fries to the crowd. "It is a good hot day. We are making a lot of money selling the pizza," said Mathew Scanie of Cold Lake. "The money we make here is going to go to the sports teams and some other activities that Panago supports in the community of Cold Lake."

Shannon Saloway of Elizabeth Settlement, part of the volunteer security crew at the entrance gate, weathered the hot sun while greeting and checking vehicles. He said he attends the celebration almost every year and this was his second year working in security.

"I will probably do this again next year. My wife is from this reserve so I come out and I get involved too," he said.

A spectacular fireworks display lit up the sky for more than 35 minutes on July 12.

"The fireworks displays are the best one's around," said one spectator. "That is what I've been hearing from a lot of people who watched them. They were beautiful, very nice. A half-an-hour's worth and from what I hear is they spend thousands of dollars on them each year. Everything was great," he said.