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G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital gets new welcoming sign to honour its place on Lhtako Dhene territory

Community leaders and Lhtako Dhene elders gather for symbolic sign change.
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A symbolic sign unveiling took place on Friday afternoon (May 25) in the main entrance of G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital.

The hospital, which sits on traditional Lhtako Dene land, had a welcoming sign in languages used around the province but by happenstance, the greeting in the smallest type in a far corner was that of the Lhtako Dene.

Mayor Bob Simpson, who gave a short speech before the unveiling, says former Lhtako Dene Chief Terry Boucher had been beckoning the city to provide the sign with the appropriate recognition.

Much of the riverside where the hospital sits was used as a traditional burying ground by the Lhtako Dene First Nation, so it was deemed important to change the sign to a proper Lhtako welcome to align with the recognition shown in other public spaces across the city.

The sign change was part of the dialogue the City and Northern Health are having with the First Nation group about the $526 million emergency and intensive care unit facility project being tabled.

Terry Boyd, a community health care representative and Lhtako elder confirms that they have been after the recognition for a while.

“I just want for other people to know what we are recognized for our traditional territory,” she says.

Boyd gave a prayer before the unveiling and presented some young traditional dancers, who whirled about creating intricate characters with rings they spun about themselves.