The 6th annual Spirit Walk will take place at 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 15th, 2019, in Mount Royal Park. We will meet at the base of the mountain (near the angel statue) and walk to Beaver Lake together (approx. 5 km).
This community event includes performances by Indigenous musicians Beatrice Deer, the Buffalo Hat Singers, and others. Everyone is welcome and we will share a small picnic together when we reach Beaver Lake.
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The Native Women's Shelter has been providing services to Indigenous women and children for over twenty years.
Funds raised during the Spirit Walk make it possible for the Shelter to host women and children at a unique healing retreat where residents reconnect with nature and participate in traditional healing ceremonies and practices, including drumming, smudging, and connecting with elders.
Residents who attended the retreat last year have shared their experiences:
“I went in the sweat lodge twice, once with my daughter, and that was the most beautiful part of all, teaching the culture to my kids. [...] It’s important for us to reconnect with our culture, it was taken away from us.”
-- Nikki, Shelter resident who attended the retreat in 2018
“There’s no words to describe it - it was just amazing [...] Everybody noticed there was a change in me, I was more focused (on) my surroundings instead of having blinders, I was more absorbed in everything […] I changed in a positive way, the way I spoke and walked, I was more proud.”
-- Eagle Eyes, Shelter resident who attended healing retreat in 2018
