RCMP Sgt. Troy Bennett beams as he speaks of an incredible moment he experienced recently on the grounds of the Mounties’ headquarters in St. John’s.
Bennett, a native of St. George’s and a member of the Qalipu First Nation who is currently stationed in the Stephenville RCMP detachment, was among the group of officers and Indigenous leaders building a sweat lodge on the headquarters’ grounds.
A sacred structure commonly used within First Nations communities for special purification ceremonies, the sweat lodge has an important place in some Indigenous cultures. So does the eagle, which is considered in Mi’qmaw culture to be a messenger to the creator, responsible for carrying prayers from this world spiritside.
Bennett points to an area of trees between the sweat lodge and the building parking lot, then uses his finger to trace the flight of an eagle that approached the lodge soon after its completion, just before the first ceremony took place inside.
“I feel that the eagle flying over our lodge prior to the sweat was a message from the creator and a sign we would have a good sweat, which we did,” Bennett tells The Telegram. “I also believe it was approval for the work being done.”
Bennett gives the RCMP’s establishment of the sweat lodge his own personal approval as well. Ever since he decided as a teenager to become a police officer, he has looked for ways to fuse his passion for the job with his passion for promoting his Mi’kmaw culture.
“This project today is one that really hits home with me,” he says. “I’m proud the RCMP sees this as an important piece of our relationship with Indigenous people and our communities.”
The RCMP sweat lodge is the second of its kind in the country, with the other in Dartmouth, N.S.
Reporters were invited to RCMP headquarters on White Hills Road early Friday morning to learn about and view the lodge, although no photos of the structure were permitted, by request of Indigenous leaders, as it is tradition to preserve the sanctity of the site. Nestled on a section of grass on the back of the building, the lodge is dome-shaped, built by hand from 17-foot alder branches, bent and tied together. The structure’s roof is covered in blankets inside and a waterproof tarp outside.
Inside the lodge — which is considered large, with the capacity to fit more than 30 people —there’s a circular pit meant to hold the “grandfathers,” which are heated to glowing in a sacred fire nearby.
“There are specially heated rocks called grandfathers, in honour of our Indigenous ancestors. They’re brought into the sweat lodge and there’s water sprinkled on them to create steam,” Bennett explains. The temperature increases during the ceremony, which proceeds in four rounds of typically 20 minutes each, with a break in between for anyone who needs it. The ceremony is held by a conductor, who is trained through tradition and practice to detect when a participant is needing assistance.
The result of a “sweat,” like many spiritual events, isn’t definable, Bennett says.
“It’s a spiritual ceremony but it’s also for your physical wellbeing, your mental wellbeing. It’s hard to put a definition of what someone would get from that because each individual person who goes inside the sweat will take something different from that sweat. In my life I’ve done numerous (sweats) and each time I do one I take something different from it,” he explains. “A cleanse is what I would describe it as.”
Assistant Commissioner Ches Parsons, commanding officer of the RCMP in Newfoundland and Labrador, was part of a group that attended the first sweat in the new RCMP lodge Thursday afternoon, conducted by Qalipu First Nation Elder Kenny (Mutchie) Bennett.
“I’ve been through sweat lodges before and have come out a changed person on each and every occasion, and that’s not a hyperbolic statement,” he says. “In my case, it took away some of the pain of the loss of some of my friends to duty.”
The time was right to establish the lodge as a symbol of the RCMP’s commitment to First Nations people in the province, Parsons said.
“It’s a time for reconciliation, and reconciliation for us now is a coming together between ourselves and the Indigenous people of our province,” he says. “A sweat lodge is an emulsifier, it’s a gathering place where we can come and deal with stressful issues such as bereavement or loss or any type of stressful or psychological trauma. These are things that help us come together as a collective.
The RCMP sweat lodge — which is not a component of all First Nations cultures in the province, is permanent, and not just for members of the police force. Community groups or groups of individuals can work with the local RCMP’s Indigenous and Community Policing Services unit to make arrangements to participate in a sweat.
“I would say that will be governed by the Mi’qmaw people,” Parsons said. “Their land, their lodge.
“We are merely the brokers of the arrangements.”
The construction of the lodge, which follows the introduction of the eagle feather in the province’s court system as an option for witnesses to use to swear oaths, represents a step on the right path, says Miawpukek First Nation Chief Misel Joe in a written statement.
“Every aspect of a sweat lodge ceremony, including construction, is filled with deep spirituality. It is a special place where we connect, reflect, cleanse and heal, all of which are needed for true reconciliation.”
The representation of the lodge on police grounds wasn’t lost on Bennett, who also took part in the first sweat on Thursday.
“It was a surreal moment, knowing that this is here and we can avail of it in the future,” he says. “It’s hard to put into words but it’s surreal and a very, very powerful thing to me.”
Twitter: @tara_bradbury
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