Stoney Nation fights to remove historical designation of church

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The rebuilding and historical designation of a church northeast of Morley has created a contentious relationship between the Stoney Nakoda Nation, the society advocating the church’s historical importance and the provincial government.

After McDougall Memorial United Church burned down in what was determined to be an arson in 2017, the province granted approval to the McDougall Stoney Mission Society to rebuild the structure.

For the Nation, this marked a new battle in a war that’s been ongoing for years.

“The day it burned down, we saw that as an opportunity to rid ourselves of something that really brings up some painful memories for many Stoney people,” said Ryan Robb, CEO of the Stoney Tribal Administration.

The permit to rebuild was approved in November 2019 by the planning commission of the M.D. of Bighorn No. 8, which deemed the church a Municipal Heritage Resource in 2014. The church was designated a historic site by the United Church of Canada and the province in 1979.

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The Nation vehemently and publicly opposed the rebuilding.

In fall 2020, the McDougall Stoney Mission Society (MSMS) began restorations on the building using 80 per cent of the original logs salvaged from the site, according to its website.

Since then, the Nation has appealed to the provincial government, specifically Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women Minister Leela Aheer, to remove the church’s historical designation.

Now, Robb said, with the conversation around residential schools and Indigenous history front of mind for Canadians, it’s even more important this designation — and a landmark to a family of Methodist missionaries who created the Morley residential school — is removed.

“We’ve found Minister Aheer extremely difficult to work with since the beginning of this process,” Robb said. “Stoney has sent seven letters to this minister and had not received any response from her, then we receive a letter from her deputy minister (on June 7) saying that we are not going to be receiving an answer.”

The file has now been passed to Alberta’s Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson. In fall 2020, both the Stoney Nation and the society sent letters to the provincial government arguing their sides.

“We recognize that historic places like the McDougall Memorial United Church are a reminder of this difficult past. The decision on the historic resource designation for McDougall Memorial United Church is still being reviewed,” Wilson’s press secretary, Adrienne South, said in an emailed statement.

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“At Stoney, we find it unfortunate that it would take a tragic find in Kamloops to focus the attention of this government on the McDougall Stoney Mission issue,” Robb said. “And we find it very interesting that after all this time that we’ve been concerned with this issue that the minister of culture has recused herself from making a decision,” he said

“She’s now off-loaded her responsibility to respond . . . when she has been in charge of this from Day 1.”

According to the society’s website, “the Society and members of the Stoney Nakoda Nation have been working on this for many months” to “tell the story of the site from the perspective of the people who were most impacted by it — the Stoney Nakoda Nation.”

But Robb said this is inaccurate.

“Stoney’s official position is our elected officials, so chiefs and councillors, have never been engaged with this group and do not support the society,” he said. “However, that is not to say that individual Stoney members aren’t free to celebrate and worship in whatever way they choose.”

The society did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For Robb, rescinding the historical designation of the church is about reconciliation and acknowledgment of the effect the McDougalls had on the Stoney people.

“There was everything from abuse to the suppression of culture and language . . . Society has changed now and it’s time for healing, it’s time for recognition. If we don’t start to make these steps we will never move forward.”

— With files from Alanna Smith 

ocondon@postmedia.com

Twitter: @oliviacondon