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A walk through a northwest Regina park now offers more than a place to play or get some fresh air; it also offers a chance to learn about Indigenous teachings.
A new space at Ken Jenkins Park features a medicine wheel, benches and an information board explaining the Seven Grandfather Teachings: wisdom, love, respect, courage, honesty, humility and truth.
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The Normanview Residents Group partnered with the City of Regina on the project, with guidance from Indigenous Elders.
Rob Bogdan, president of the Normanview Residents Group, said the idea was to create something that could bring people together while sharing teachings that have been passed from generation to generation.
“There are Seven Grandfather Teachings that the Elders have passed along from generation to generation,” Bogdan said.
“We thought that it would be good to have something in our community that would explain the Seven Grandfather Teachings and what they represent.”
Normanview Residents Group president Rob Bogdan speaks into a microphone beside the Grandfather Teachings project at Ken Jenkins Park. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)
Bogdan said he initially wondered whether a project with that message should be located somewhere more central in Regina.
But the more he thought about the people who already walk, play and spend time in Ken Jenkins Park, the more the location made sense.
“There’s a lot of people that use this space, and I thought that it would be good for our community,” he said.
“I think it just enhances, brings the community together, and people can learn from the Seven Grandfather Teachings.”
The site was guided by Elders Sharon Agecoutay of Cowessess First Nation and Diane Kaiswatum of Piapot First Nation. The City of Regina says the project officially began with a ceremony on Sept. 15, 2024, marking the 150th anniversary of the signing of Treaty 4.
Bogdan said discussions and preparation for the project stretched back even further.
“This project has been in the works for over three years and it’s actually four years,” he said.
An animal represents each of the seven teachings.
Bogdan said courage is represented by the bear, love by the eagle, wisdom by the beaver, respect by the buffalo, truth by the turtle, humility by the wolf, and honesty by the Sabe, or Sasquatch.
“The animals are very important in the Indigenous culture,” Bogdan said.
“The Elders guided us to say, ‘Well, we should respect and we should include the animals in the Seven Grandfather Teachings.’”
An information board also includes a QR code that visitors can scan to learn more.
The City of Regina says the space includes aspen trees, Saskatoon berry shrubs and benches intended to create an area for reflection, learning and gathering. The medicine wheel itself uses four colours representing different directions, elements and teachings.
A medicine wheel is part of the new Grandfather Teachings project at Ken Jenkins Park in Regina. The space was created as a place for learning, reflection and reconciliation.(Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)
A place to learn outside the classroom
Jared Clarke, Saskatchewan NDP MLA for Regina Walsh Acres and a former teacher, said having the teachings displayed in an everyday public space can make conversations about Indigenous knowledge and reconciliation more familiar.
“It normalizes these conversations and the idea that Indigenous way of knowing is an important part of Saskatchewan,” Clarke said.
He said people do not necessarily have to attend a formal event or classroom lesson to encounter the teachings.
“To have it here in the park, and to be able to read the signage and sit and contemplate, it’s just something you can do as you walk through the park,” Clarke said.
That could also extend into nearby classrooms.
Several schools are within walking distance of the site, and Clarke said teachers could use the park as another place for students to learn.
“Schools can use this place to come and do teachings as well, which I think is a great opportunity from an educational perspective,” he said.
For Bogdan, the completed space is also part of the community association’s broader goal of making the neighbourhood more welcoming and vibrant.
The project received support from the City of Regina, Access Communications Children’s Fund, Affinity Credit Union and SaskCulture. The city also lists Sask Lotteries as a project partner and sponsor.
Beyond the landscaping, signs and benches, Bogdan said the heart of the project is what people can take away from the teachings.
“Honesty, courage, love, wisdom, respect, truth and humility,” he said. “Those are the Seven Grandfather Teachings.”
Saskatchewan NDP MLA Jared Clarke speaks at the Grandfather Teachings project at Ken Jenkins Park in Regina. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME)
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