Prince George celebrates centennial

Kelley Ware
Multimedia Coordinator

n March 6, Prince George officially
Oieetebrated its 100th birthday.
Incorporated in 1915, the city has a lot to
celebrate. Outside of City Hall, Mayor Lyn
Hall, Chief Dominic Frederick, and Councillor
Murry Krause welcomed guests with stories
and cake.

The event began the way most events begin:
with a recognition of the traditional territory
of the Lheidli T’enneh. After the recognition,
Mayor Hall briefly discussed where Prince

George has been, where it is going, and why
we should be proud to celebrate. However, it
quickly moved to incorporating the Lheidli
T’enneh as partners in Prince George’s
present and future. “The relationship we
have with the Lheidli T’enneh is one of
friendship and economic development,”
said Mayor Hall, “We look forward to
moving the relationship into the future.”

This was an important acknowledgement,
especially considering the checkered past
Prince George (and Canada as a whole)
has with its First Nation population.
Andrew Kurjata of CBC Daybreak recently

posted a Soundcloud story (soundcloud.
com/akurjata/burn-your-village-to-the-
ground-100-years-since-lheidli) about the
early history of PG that involved forced
relocation of Indigenous people. Set to
the music of A Tribe Called Red, it points
out the problems with our colonial past.

It was an unexpected surprise that the
100th Anniversary of incorporation did
not gloss over these events; the speakers
acknowledged and accepted the fact that
the history of Prince George goes far
further than 100 years. The centennial
celebration was not as much about looking

Left: Mayor Lyn Hall. Center:.Chief Dominic
Frederick. Right: Councillor Murry Kraus
Kelley Ware | OTE

at the past, but about moving towards the
future. “The Lheidli T’enneh were here
long before Europeans,” Councillor Krause
said, “2015 needs to belong to everyone.”

Chief Frederick also spoke about the
centennial and celebration. “Happy
Birthday!” he exclaimed before discussing
the idea of building relationships and
celebrating what we have built.

“We have an interesting past and I hope
we have an incredible future,’ finished
Councillor Krause before the three leaders
cut the centennial cake together.