The Alberta Government's approval of the restoration of the McDougall Mission Church was met with applause at the annual spring service at the McDougall Stoney Mission Church, June 9.

More importantly, the announcement follows efforts to rekindle the spiritual relationship between the descendants of Rev. George McDougall and the Stoney Nakoda People.

Eighty per cent of the church's log structure was recovered from the May 2017 blaze that laid to waste the first protestant church in southern Alberta. That in combination with the availability of drawings and photographic documentation saw the government accept the proposal to restore the building exactly as it stood, says Brenda McQueen, president of the McDougall Stoney Mission Society and the great-great-great-granddaughter of Rev. George McDougall.

McQueen was emotionally when making the announcement with Gloria Snow at her side. In the wake of the church's destruction, there has been a rekindling of the relationship that had waned over the years. The service atmosphere was charged by the call for the renewal of the original spiritual bond created when Rev. George McDougall was invited, then guided to what was became the Morleyville Methodist Mission in the mid-1870s. 

That same morning, a smudging ceremony was held involving the society and all three bands forming the Stoney-Nakoda Nation, says McQueen

"The smudging ceremony in the tipi was to recognize that we could move forward with the proposal to restore the church. The Stoney People are on board with us and we will do it together."

A year previous, a pipe ceremony was held to lay the groundwork, she says.

"It's a rebuilding. It's a rekindling," she says. "We're all working together and I think everybody that was here today felt that energy. I know I'm an emotional person, but this means so much to me because you don't really see it in a lot of places. Yet on this site, it brings out something special in people and allows us to work together for the future."

With all parties now on the board there's plenty to be done to make the restoration a reality. Fundraising is one of the major components but there's also planning to undertake and continued consultation with the Alberta government.

The service reflected on the past but it also looked to the future with optimism. Chiniki councillor Charles Powerface spoke with pride and faith in the renewal and then joined other Stoney Elders in offering the opening prayer. They also sang traditional Stoney hymns. Gloria Snow and Tony Snow reflected on the significance of the site and its intent to be enjoyed by people of all walks of life. Rev. Linda Hunter, of the Central United Church, spoke of faith and lead the closing hymn "How Great Thou Art." She also discussed the power of reconciliation that is taking place between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. In addition, she referenced the importance of the national inquiry on missing and murders Indigenous women as another important step forward in that reconciliation.