Cloth is one of the offerings given by Indigenous Elders to bless the waters of Manitou Beach. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Indigenous Water Ceremony

Indigenous Water Ceremony bringing the spirit back to Manitou Beach

Aug 17, 2019 | 4:56 PM

The Resort Village of Manitou Beach has been inviting Indigenous elders and their families to Manitou Beach for years to perform water ceremonies.

On Saturday, Aug. 17, Harold Littletent – a culture advisor for Touchwood Hills Agency Tribal Council and of Plains Cree descent– joined his Elder father where they were brought in to bless the waters where Assiniboine, Blackfoot, and Plains Cree people once resided.

Littletent said Manitou means “great spirit” in Plains Cree.

“Not all people know the protocols of the water,” Littletent said. “Our First Nations people will go there, bring print (cloth) and tobacco and take a little bit of water home to bless and heal ourselves. Sometimes our joints are sore, or we have some kind of disease. Medication couldn’t take it away, but water could take it away. That’s how powerful that water is to us.

“People are saying [the spirit] is not there anymore, but we still believe it’s healing. We have to respect it.”

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Manitou Beach is said to have hosted three different tribes of First Nations people – Assiniboine, Blackfoot, and Plains Cree. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

The water ceremony doesn’t get photographed or recorded because it’s traditionally private, although the process involves a pipe ceremony in a teepee tent before a male and female Indigenous Elder pray together and place their offerings in the water to bless it.

Littletent explained what his father was saying in his Plains Cree prayer.

“He was thanking the water for blessing all of us,” he said. “It didn’t matter what tribe you’re from or what colour you were, he was praying for that and thanking the water for all the years it’s come to help many people who couldn’t help themselves. They wouldn’t come here if it wasn’t healing them.”

Littletent said he feels blessed whenever he and his 82-year-old father are invited to Manitou Beach. The relationship between Indigenous people, Watrous, and Manitou Beach has gotten to the point where water ceremonies can reach an attendance of 500 and local farmers will discover teepee rings and leave them the way they are.

Harold Littletent hopes to see generations of his family enjoy Manitou Beach as much as he does. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

Both are scenarios Littletent wasn’t sure he’d ever see.

“Back in the day, it was different,” he said. “Everyone had different politics or rules and we couldn’t do things we do now, but things are getting better here. I hope in generations, my kids and grandkids could come here any time and have a good feeling.”

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow