Sturgeon Lake First Nation celebrates grand opening of traditional birthing lodge

Sturgeon Lake First Nation held the official grand opening of the Shirley Bighead birthing lodge on Wednesday. Jasmine Pelletier reports.

This week marks the start of a new chapter for Sturgeon Lake First Nation (SLFN). The community held the official grand opening of the Shirley Bighead birthing lodge on Wednesday.

“This is an act of self-determination,” said Chief Christine Longjohn. “Sturgeon Lake is asserting jurisdiction over birthing, grounding in our inherent rights and the Medicine Chest Clause to Treaty 6. We expect the Crown, federal and provincial, to honour those promises, to respect our right to exercise that jurisdiction.”

Resident midwife Rosina Darcha was brought on three years earlier.

“I’m so happy I’m alive on this special day to see this happen,” said Darcha. “Then I couldn’t really, I couldn’t really see it. But now I do see it. And I think it’s a great honour for this community to allow me to be a helper.”

The birthing lodge is designed for mothers from SLFN and nearby First Nations to give birth in alignment with traditional Cree practices.

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The lodge is named in memory of Shirley Bighead, a community member who dedicated her time to health care at SLFN.

Chief Longjohn wants to make sure the lodge can maintain its programs and services over time.

“We’ll keep working with our partners to secure the long-term funding this lodge needs, and we won’t stop until the work is properly resourced,” said Longjohn.

SLFN has been working with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). ISC has contributed more than $20 million to the development of the lodge.

“We got some work ahead of us,” said Rob Harvey, regional director-general for ISC. “We have committed to the chief and the council to continue that engagement and to continue a way forward, to ensure resourcing of this facility is adequate to maintain a facility.”

So far, ISC has committed $680,000 annually for programs and services.