$1 includes GST Tuesday,November 3, 2015

Vol. 38, No. 44www.weeklyreview.ca twitter.com/vikingweeklyCELEBRATING OVER 100 YEARS OF SERVING THE AREA •1913-2015•

Remembrance Day services will beheld at the Viking Community Hall onWednesday, Nov. 11.

Everyone is welcome to attend theservice which will commemorate thesacrifices of members of the armedforces and of civilians through theyears. It is observed on Nov. 11 to recallthe end of World War I. On that date in1918 the major hostilities of World WarI were formally ended “at the 11thhour of the 11th day of the 11th month”with the German signing of theArmistice.

The day was specifically dedicatedby King George V, on Nov. 7. 1919, tothe observance of members of thearmed forces who were killed duringwar.

In Viking on Nov 11, the doors willopen at 10 a.m. with the service start-ing at 10:30 a.m.

The poem, poster and essay contestawards will be given out after theservice. Later in the day there will be aroast beef and ham supper at theLegion Hall.

The Legion doors will open at 5 p.m.with supper served at 6 p.m. Everyoneis welcome to attend, however, if youplan to be at the supper please callBecky 780-385-1790 or Elehda 780-336-3359 before Nov. 6 and leave a messagesaying you will be attending.

The poppy’s association withRemembrance Day goes back to 1915when Canadian Lt.-Col. John McCraewrote the poem Flanders Field as heviewed poppies growing beside thegrave of a friend of his who had died inbattle. The flower has long been adopt-ed as the Flower of Remembrance andvolunteer donations are used to assistVeterans and their dependants.

Remembrance Day services on November 11

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY COMMUNICATIONS BRANCH, ALBERTA CULTURE AND TOURISMLast week the human remains unearthed by a badger on the Rozmahel farm August 26 were reinterned during a special ceremony. Under overcast skies and lightrain, Vikingʼs RCMP Corporal Rick Halter spoke to those gathered to honour the deceased at the reinterment ceremony. See full story on Page 9.

The Weekly Review (Viking, Alberta), Tuesday, November 3, 2015 - 9

A final reinterment has been heldand the remains of what authoritiesnow say is a young aboriginal womanwere laid to rest during a private cere-mony last week.

The human bones were unearthed onthe Rozmahel farm on August 26 ofthis year and for the past couple ofmonths have been studied and ana-lyzed by a team headed by forensicanthropologist Pamela Mayne Correiaof the University of Alberta. AlbertaCulture and Tourism was part of therecover exercise and supplied theWeekly Review with the photos whichaccompany this article.

Brian Rozmahel who found theremains on the family farm land and

who has been part of the journey backin time, said placing the young girl to afinal burial spot was very emotionaland touching.

“A number of things have happenedsince we last spoke,” Rozmahel saidwhen contacted by the Weekly Reviewlast week.

He said it was finally decided thatthe remains are likely those of a youngwoman, that the site was that of a sin-gle grave, and that no other grave siteswere found.

He said although it was originallythought the remains, suspected to havebeen unearthed by a badger, were con-sidered those of a young aboriginalmale, when further archeological workwas completed, it was decided that theremains are likely those of a youngfemale.

Professionals spent a couple of daysat the original burial site, set up a gridand sifted through pails and pails ofsoil, collecting and preserving any-thing they could find.

“Once the body was fully exposed, itwas discovered that there were just somany beads and rings buried with thisperson that it was suggested that thebones were those of a young lady. Whowas she? Well, that is so hard to say.There were thousands...yes, thousandsof seed beads found near the remainsas well as more rings and buttons. Itwas the find of the buttons that origi-nally had us thinking that the remainswere those of a young man. Wethought the buttons may have comefrom a jacket belonging to the youngman.

“However, in among all the artifactsa thimble was found. Was this the bur-ial site of a young male and the motheror the young bride of the male laid hermost precious item with him in hisgrave? Or was it a young woman,someone of prominence...maybe achief’s wife or daughter? Those of therecovery team thought it was likely theremains of a young woman,”Rozmahel said.

Rozmahel said because there was anabundance of beads and jewelry, it isobvious this young person was some-one of some stature in the communityall those years ago.

He said a craftsman from theUkrainian Village built a casket for theremains and the archeologists re-builtthe body and laid the remains in thecasket complete with a necklace ofbeads, rings on her fingers and thensurrounded the body with the thou-sands of seed beads recovered from theoriginal site.

About 25 to 30 people assembled tobe part of the final ceremony.

Elders from Maskwacis First Nationand RCMP Inspector Wendell Reimer,assistant district officer for the EasternAlberta District RCMP, as well asViking’s RCMP Corporal Rick Halterwere among those who attended thereinterment last week.

“The RCMP presented gifts and Iasked if I too should offer a gift but Iwas told that my gift was assigning aplot for the grave site. It is just a 10 by10 foot spot. It is really nothing but Iwill take care of it and will make sure itis maintained.

“I have told all the First Nationmembers they are welcome to visit thesite anytime they choose.”

Rozmahel said Richard Hammer andLeonard Greenwood offered machin-ery and their services to dig the graveand they too attended the burial serv-ice at the new site. The new burial sitewas selected for its beauty. Rozmahelmade the selection saying he felt it wasthe ideal spot for a final resting place.

“It was 11 a.m. It was cold and rainybut the members of the First Nationstook the weather as a good signexplaining that the rain washes a per-son’s last traces from the earth. Thecoffin was opened and a number of

gifts were laid inside. Tobacco wassprinkled into the grave before the cof-fin was closed and lowered into theground by ropes.

“The earth was then hand-shoveledover the coffin. There were some love-ly chants and drumming. It was veryemotional. Six of my grandchildrenattended and my two oldest grandsonstook a turn to place a shovel of earth onthe grave.

“Then everyone circled the graveand walked clockwise and then turnedand walked away, not looking back. Itwas over. It maybe took an hour andeveryone quietly dispersed.”

Rozmahel said he has no idea whyhe found the remains but that mem-bers of the First Nations did tell himthat the young person made her pres-ence known for a reason.

For Rozmahel the August find hasset him on a new adventure and a newpath of learning.

“There is so much to think about. Ithink about my past work with teensand I wonder if maybe I shouldn’tencourage young people to write aboutwho they think this young lady wasand what her life was like. I am think-ing I may talk with the school and seeif there is any interest.”

He says he also would like to try toset up a “bones and stones” presenta-tion for young people and would askforensic anthropologist Pamela MayneCorreia to speak.

And although he does not know forsure what he will do with the originalgravesite, he is considering plantinggrass on the spot and preserving it as aspecial spot.

“I know I will keep the original siteand the new grave area safe and I willrespect both locations and ask mydescendants to do the same,” he said.

And he said this summer when theweather is nice, the First Nations haveasked that a celebration be held on thefarm, an idea he would very muchenjoy. He said he is not sure what sucha celebration includes but he is excitedabout the idea.

Rozmahel says he is surprised by theamount of interest which the discoveryof the human bones has brought. Hesaid people stop him daily and askquestions and just recently he was con-tacted by the Huffington Post Alberta(Huffington Post Alberta is an onlinenewspaper) asking for an interview.

He said he is very pleased with allthe interest shown, adding that he ishonoured to have been part of the findand said how he has enjoyed theunique learning journey it has takenhim on.

Rozmahel said the respect and admi-ration he has always had for the mem-bers of First Nations and their tradi-tions has multiplied and that he looksforward to further learning and under-standing the rich tradition the FirstNations has to offer.

“I would like to continue the legacyof Running Badger and make herViking’s very own First Nations’Princess.”

Final reinterment service held on Rozmahel farm

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY COMMUNICATIONS BRANCH, ALBERTA CULTURE AND TOURISM

Above Brian Rozmahel and Dr. Cecilia Wu, the Assistant Chief MedicalExaminer, take part in the touching ceremony which saw the human remainsfound August 26 laid to rest in a specially selected location on the Rozmahelfarm.

Remains of aboriginal youth laid to rest

Lorraine PoulsenEditor