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Saddle Lake babies welcomed to world

Smiling mothers and fathers brought their babies up to the front of the hall at Ayiwakes Cultural Centre, as each of these newborns of 2016 received a headband and were blessed by Saddle Lake elder Carl Quinn.
Krista Makokis and her son Wayne Shirt Jr. were among the people attending Saddle Lake’s annual baby celebration, held last Wednesday at the Ayiwakes Cultural Centre.
Krista Makokis and her son Wayne Shirt Jr. were among the people attending Saddle Lake’s annual baby celebration, held last Wednesday at the Ayiwakes Cultural Centre. All the babies, including Wayne, received a handmade beaded headband and blessings from elder Carl Quinn. At right is Nicole Cardinal, holding her daughter Serenity Cardinal-Sparklingeyes, the 2017 New Year’s baby for Saddle Lake.

Smiling mothers and fathers brought their babies up to the front of the hall at Ayiwakes Cultural Centre, as each of these newborns of 2016 received a headband and were blessed by Saddle Lake elder Carl Quinn.

Last year, as of November, 88 babies had been born to Saddle Lake parents, according to organizers of the annual event that is meant to celebrate new life.

This year’s event was all about the theme of tradition – the hall’s giant tipi structure was decorated in the colours of the medicine wheel; tipi centerpieces decorated the head table, and women were encouraged to wear long skirts. More than 100 lovingly hand-crafted headbands were completed to give away by an employee at the health centre, who estimated that the work on the headbands took between 300 to 500 hours to provide each baby with the unique gift.

Organizer Gloria White, who works with the Saddle Lake Health Centre, said this year’s baby celebration was meant to bring First Nations traditions to the younger generations, “by teaching our little ones, right from a little age, our language and our traditional culture. It’s a beautiful culture.”

Families attending had pictures taken with their newborns, took inkblots of their baby’s footprint to add to a giant tree, and received door prizes.

The community’s New Year’s Baby of 2017 was also celebrated, receiving a number of gifts donated by community groups and programs. Serenity Cardinal-Sparklingeyes was born at the Royal Alex hospital on Jan. 1, an early surprise for mother Nicole Cardinal.

“She was supposed to be born on Jan. 20,” said Cardinal, adding, “Right on New Year’s Eve, my water broke.”

The next day, Jan. 1 at 9:53 a.m., Serenity entered the world, weighing 5;12 lbs. As a newcomer to the community, Cardinal said she had never attended the previous baby celebrations, but felt it was an “awesome” event that made her feel included in the community.

Another special guest at this year’s event was Alberta’s Minister of Indigenous Relations Richard Feehan. Feehan had spent the morning in talks with chief and council about shared areas of interest, such as treaty rights, the economy, land and resources, education, infrastructure and the government’s climate leadership plan.

“It’s really about just working together and achieving things to the betterment of the community,” said Feehan, with Saddle Lake Chief Eddie Makokis saying it was the first time the reserve has had a minister come to the community not only to tour, but also to have talks directly with one another.

“I think it’s time First Nations do that, talking to provincial and federal governments, nation to nation,” he said, adding partnerships are key to dealing with matters like education and infrastructure.

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