Down home Prince Edward impresses Whitecap citizens
- EFN Staff | September 19, 2014
What started out as a normal day for
Gloria Eagle and Elwin Bear turned into a chance encounter and a once in a
lifetime chat with Royalty. Gloria and Elwin were on hand to witness Prince
Edward unveil the War of 1812 Monument. They have lots of ties to the event
since it is their community, the Whitecap Dakota First Nation, that has donated
the monument to the City of Saskatoon and their two children, Summer and Shayne
were there with their school to sing O Canada for the Prince. But they sure did
not expect to meet the Prince. The experience left Gloria almost speechless.
“Oh my God it was awesome. My husband
said, let’s go over here and talk to him, so I didn’t think we would talk to
him at all so we came over,” said Gloria, slightly out of breath from the
encounter. “But he was awesome. I have never spoken to royalty in my life but
it was really nice to see him. He was so well mannered and awesome that he came
and talked to us like that.”
Prince Edward arrived at the riverbank
in a motorcade and was greeted by Whitecap Dakota Chief Darcy Bear and
Councillors Frank Royal and Dwayne Eagle and Senator Melvin Littlecrow, local
politicians and dignitaries. After some welcoming comments, Prince Edward,
Chief Bear, MP Lynne Yelich and Mayor Don Atchison did the final unveiling.
The monument is a donation from
Whitecap Dakota First Nation to the City of Saskatoon to recognize and honour
the contributions of the multicultural allies who participated in the War of
1812. The statue is near the Farmers Market, just up the block from the
landmark statues of Chief Whitecap and Saskatoon founder John Lake.
Following the unveiling, Prince
Edward went and greeted children from Whitecap who had assembled to sing for
the Prince. He then walked the crowd allowing photos and stopping to visit with
the occasional fan. That’s when he spotted Elwin and Gloria and he asked them
where they were from. When they told him Whitecap, they certainly got his
attention.
The significance of meeting the
Prince and the unveiling wasn’t lost on Elwin. “This monument is special for
the Native people of our country and good for the future,” he said when it
comes to improving relations in Canada.
The City of Saskatoon has worked hard at encouraging partnerships and inclusion in areas of Saskatoon and Elwin and Gloria are proud of their ties to the area and with Whitecap’s history being so prominently displayed. “For this event, my kids sang and my mom, Elder Melvina Eagle, she also planted a tree down in this area with a bunch of other Elders a few years ago,” added Gloria. “We come here all the time to the riverbank and now we can tell our kids this is part of Whitecap now. I think this was an awesome opportunity to meet the Prince. And I think he’s handsome too!”