A long-awaited agreement will see a culturally significant meteorite returned to a natural setting after years of advocacy by Indigenous communities.
The Manitou Asinîy, commonly known as the Manitou Stone, will be relocated from its current display at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton to Elk Island National Park, specifically on the site of a former golf course.
The initiative, driven by First Nations groups in Alberta and Saskatchewan, reached a key milestone on Monday with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the federal government and the Manitou Asinîy-Iniskim-Tsa Xani Centre (MAITX). This not-for-profit organization, established in 2023, aims to secure land and resources for a dedicated centre to bring the stone home.
At 145 kilograms, the iron meteorite is believed to have fallen centuries ago near Hardisty, Alberta. For generations, it served as a vital meeting place for various Indigenous peoples.
In 1866, it was removed by a missionary and later displayed at a college in Cobourg, Ontario. It was repatriated to Alberta in 1972 and has since been exhibited at the Edmonton museum.
The golf course at Elk Island has been closed since the end of the 2022 season, freeing the space for this new purpose.
The plan includes constructing a dedicated building on the former golf course grounds to house the meteorite and provide a space for ceremonies.
“The vision will be to have a building on the golf course where the [stone] will be housed. Where people can come have ceremonies. The Dene, the Cree, the Blackfoot, we can all have ceremonies,” said Blaine Favel, a member of the board of directors for MAITX.
Environmental assessments for the site are underway, though no firm timeline has been set for the stone’s relocation or construction.
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