Lethbridge Police Service celebrates first harvest from new Blackfoot Medicine Garden

The Lethbridge Police Service celebrated the first harvest from its new Blackfoot Medicine Garden, which provides sustainably grown medicines for smudge kits and use in cultural ceremonies.

The initiative was originally proposed by Cst. Les Vonkeman, who retired last year, and has been advanced by Trissly Blackwater in the Community Engagement Unit and Catherine Pooley, manager of the Victim/Witness Services Unit. 

Earlier this spring, LPS installed a series of rooftop garden boxes crafted by local artisan Glen Elgersma. Each of the four boxes is inscribed with one of the Service’s Blackfoot values as a symbolic reminder that the police station stands on Blackfoot territory, surrounded by Niitsitapi wisdom and sacred medicines. 

Under the guidance and blessing of Blackfoot Elder Cathy Hunt, and with the assistance of Lindsie Bruns from The Confluence in Calgary, sweetgrass, mint, sage, and tobacco took root. Throughout the growing season, Blackwater, Pooley, and other LPS employees nurtured the plants, with the continued support of the Service’s Indigenous Advisory Committee.

“We made a commitment to walk the path of learning and understanding before sharing this initiative with the community,” said Catherine Pooley. “True reconciliation begins with action—by doing the work, not just planning it. Through our hands in the soil and our hearts in the learning, we’re working to build trust that is grounded in respect, reciprocity and a commitment to reconciliation.”

The Blackfoot Medicine Garden has provided an invaluable opportunity for the Lethbridge Police Service to become stewards of sacred medicinal plants, deepen understanding and connection to Blackfoot culture, and use the medicines in a respectful way to support the Victim/Witness Services Smudge Kit program and ceremonies – including smudges and blessings – that are an integral part of many LPS events.

It has also become a way for LPS to live and embody some of the Niitsitapi values:

• Kimmapiiyipitssini (kindness to others): caring for the garden so that the medicines can, in turn, care for people.
• Mokakssini (wisdom): learning from Elders about the cultural significance of the medicines, and when and how to plant and harvest them in a good way.
• Niitsitapiiyssini (to be Blackfoot): honouring cultural identity through ceremony.
• Aahsapsinni (generosity): sharing the medicines with those who need them.

Monday’s harvest began with a smudge and blessing of the medicines by Elder Morris Little Wolf.  He and his wife, Elder Betty Ann Little Wolf, also shared their knowledge and wisdom about the sacred plants, explaining some of the ways they are used in Blackfoot culture.

Sage, a powerful medicine, is used in smudging to cleanse homes, bring healing to the sick and offer protection to those who carry it. Sweetgrass, known for its sweet and calming scent, is also used in smudging and is often placed above the doorway of a home so that negativity and hardship remain outside.

“These are teachings passed down from generation to generation,” said Elder Morris Little Wolf.

LPS members learned the proper way to harvest the medicines by first offering tobacco to the earth before gently pulling the plants out by their roots. The harvested medicines will be dried and stored in the LPS Multi-Faith Room until they are needed. Next spring, new medicines will be planted, continuing the cycle of growth and renewal.