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Key dedication ceremony held for historic Kikinaw Lodge

Jun 25, 2016 | 2:07 PM

With less than two months until the anticipated completion of the historic elders lodge on the Flying Dust First Nation, a key dedication ceremony was held to commemorate the project.

Roughly 100 guests attended the event held Friday, June 24.

The project is the first of its kind in Canada because it’s the first partner-build with Habitat for Humanity on reserve land. While construction started in June 2015, Richard Gladue, chief of the First Nation said conversations about starting the project started back in 1986.

“(This is) a very special day for all of us, it’s been a dream for many of us, for many years,” he said.

“We are very proud of our partnership with Habitat and our work with Habitat Lloydminster. It is a historic day at Flying Dust First Nation as we realize our dream of providing adequate homes for our elders,” Gladue said.

The home will be called Kikinaw, the Cree word for ‘our home’.

The project was kick-started by former chief, now vice-chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN), Robert Merasty who shed a few tears of happiness during the ceremony, finally seeing the project come to fruition.

“I went to an infrastructure conference in Toronto and ran into the manager of Indigenous housing for habitat, Jay Shree-Thakar. I pulled her aside and we talked and she said ‘chief, I appreciate this and I’m going to try my hardest.’ A couple months later she called and said she had good news for me,” Merasty said.

Habitat for Humanity changed their policy nationally, to be able to come on reserve land. Merasty said it’s a sign the organization is truly committed to loving, kindness and caring for people.

Over the past year of construction, volunteer groups from Habitat branches across Canada and labour training programs sent volunteers to help. During construction, volunteers have chipped in more than 5,000 hours of service to see the project come to fruition.

“It shows we care about our elders and I’m thankful to everyone,” Merasty said.

The lodge will house ten elders and as part of the partnership with Habitat for Humanity, will see the homes elders are currently in, get renovated and refurbished for low-income families, specifically single mothers.

The projects construction is anticipated to wrap up in mid-August with elders moving in shortly after. Renovations to the existing elder homes began on June 25.

 

cswiderski@jpbg.ca

On twitter: @coltonswiderski