A flag representing First Nations is flying above city hall in Regina, something officials say is a first in Canadian history.
The flag, associated with Indian bands that signed Treaty Four, joined an array of flags at city hall, including flags of Canada, Saskatchewan and the city.
"This is a remarkable and historic moment," Shawn Atleo, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said Friday during a ceremony to raise the flag. "It's not just the raising of a flag, but the raising of a new standard of recognition."
The Treaty Four flag, which represents 34 First Nations in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, was chosen by city council members as the most suitable symbol to reflect Regina's aboriginal population.
"When Treaty Four was entered into in 1874, our chiefs had in mind securing a future for the children not yet born," Perry Bellegarde, a local chief, said Friday. "Now those children are our elders, our grandmothers and grandfathers, our mothers and fathers, our teachers and mentors, and our youth who hold the future in their hands."
In a news release Friday, the City of Regina said the design of the Treaty Four flag came from a late elder, Gordon Oakes, who envisioned the flag being flown with other official government flags.
City council has also approved adding a Métis flag to the array of official flags in front of city hall.
The flag, associated with Indian bands that signed Treaty Four, joined an array of flags at city hall, including flags of Canada, Saskatchewan and the city.
"This is a remarkable and historic moment," Shawn Atleo, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said Friday during a ceremony to raise the flag. "It's not just the raising of a flag, but the raising of a new standard of recognition."
The Treaty Four flag, which represents 34 First Nations in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, was chosen by city council members as the most suitable symbol to reflect Regina's aboriginal population.
"When Treaty Four was entered into in 1874, our chiefs had in mind securing a future for the children not yet born," Perry Bellegarde, a local chief, said Friday. "Now those children are our elders, our grandmothers and grandfathers, our mothers and fathers, our teachers and mentors, and our youth who hold the future in their hands."
In a news release Friday, the City of Regina said the design of the Treaty Four flag came from a late elder, Gordon Oakes, who envisioned the flag being flown with other official government flags.
City council has also approved adding a Métis flag to the array of official flags in front of city hall.
