Dear Editor,
I am writing in regards to our rights as citizens and landowners to decide the health and welfare of the beautiful landscape we live in. I live in the heart of the beautiful Medicine Lodge Hills, west of Bentley. This is an area rich in history as well. This was a sacred place; a place of ceremonies, a wintering place and meeting place for the native people for thousands of years. This is the site where the great Cree chief, Maskepitoon came on a vision quest. Remains of these sites are still here. Burial grounds are here as well. This is a special place, a powerful place.
I am an artist, and show my work in many places in Canada as well as the US. I talk to literally thousands of people each year, and when people ask where I live, I am astounded at how many people know about this area. They know it as a beautiful place; a place that many have not forgotten, even though they just drove through it. This is an oasis for many animals and plants, which see this as home. It has been compared to the Black Hills in historical importance, the Cypress Hills in uniqueness, and has made its mark on the maps of travelers from the First Nations, to present day tourists.
Geographically, the hill, which hosts the Medicine Hills Ski Hill, is said to be the highest point of land, east of the Foothills. Recently, the future of this area has been put at great risk. The land here is now being earmarked as new drilling ground for shallow gas wells. These wells have destroyed water, sickened those living around them, and changed forever the landscape of the land.
I have been to northern Saskatchewan, and seen for myself, what the new landscape looks like, and it is shocking! I have seen what eight wells per quarter looks like. That is what can happen here if we don’t stand up for this land now! Once drilling starts here, new applications will be approved to put more and more on each quarter. I only have part of one quarter, but I will not stand for this slaughter of the land.
I hope others who care for this area will also stand up for it. Surely, some areas of this great province can be left to be the sacred places they have been for millennia! - not just for history’s sake, but also for our’s and future generations as well. A public meeting has been set to discuss this matter at the Gilby Community Centre. (Please see the Community Calendar on Page 2 for details). The centre is located just north of Highway 12 by the Medicine River. Please come and let your concerns be known, we need to preserve this area. I hope to see you all there.
Sincerely,
Wanda Whaley
Bentley, Alta.