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Ermineskin inaugurate skate park

Ermineskin youth will now be able to skate, slide, bike and jump at their own skate park after its inauguration
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Ermineskin Cree elders and the band leadership asked the youth to cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Maskwacis Skate Park next to the Jim Rattlesnake building on Friday

Ermineskin youth will now be able to skate, slide, bike and jump at their own skate park after its inauguration on Friday, July 5 with a ceremony involving the chief and the council of the Cree nation.

Sam Minde, a member of the Ermineskin Cree Nation Council and the lead on the skate park project said the funding for the $400,000 project had been mostly raised from the band’s own resources and just a little over a quarter of the total cost, some $125,000, had come from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit.

Minde said the construction of the skate park was part of the strategic business plan of the council, which was designed with a view to stressing the importance of community wellness among the Ermineskin Cree nation.

Minde also said the second phase of the community wellness project would see the construction of a basketball court just next to skate park.

Wetaskiwin Home Hardware has announced that they would donate bleachers to be erected around the skate park area. Glen Naugler of Home Hardware said they had very good business relations with the Ermineskin community for more than 20 years and that they were happy to give back to the community.

During the inauguration ceremony, Ermineskin Cree chief Craig Makinaw said the park had been two years in the making and that it would help youth to get involved in more physical activity and less in video and computer games. He said that would help healthier generations to be raised.

Following speeches, Ermineskin nation’s leadership and the elders called on the children to cut the inauguration ribbon to declare the skate park open.

Organizers also brought in a few demonstrators to show the Cree youth the moves that they might want to try to enjoy the park.