The 2,050-year-old bones of a man once resting underneath a Brock St. parking lot will be reburied during a five-day spiritual ceremony beginning Thursday.
Curve Lake First Nation will be in charge of the reburial while the city picks up the tab,
The Examiner has learned.
On Dec. 6, 1960, a city employee working on a new parking lot on the north side of Brock St. between Aylmer and George streets, uncovered the remains of a nearly 2,000-year-old indigenous man.
The discovery became a significant archeological find. The man had been buried with about 30 grave goods including spearheads, harpoons and tools, suggesting he held a high position within the community such as chief.
His remains were eventually reburied at the Curve Lake First Nation cemetery on May 26, 1991.
During the refurbishing of the Brock St. parking lot in 2003, however, more human bone fragments were discovered.
Because archeologist Gord Dibb could not determine if the fragments belonged to the prior burial ground, Curve Lake decided the remains should be reburied on Brock St., cultural archivist Anne Taylor said.
"Those remains have sort of been left in limbo since 2004," Taylor said.
Dibb has maintained possession of the remains, she said.
Recently, Taylor met with the city's heritage resources co-ordinator Erik Hanson and the two agreed on a reburial ceremony to coincide with Peterborough's annual Strawberry Moon Festival, which begins Wednesday, Taylor said.
"It's in honour of our ancestor's remains," Taylor said. "Because his remains have been disturbed, one of our concerns is that his spirit has been restless and disturbed as well."
The ceremony will begin Thursday afternoon with the lighting of a sacred fire that will burn until the reburial on Monday.
Five young fire keepers from Curve Lake will maintain the fire, taking shifts to protect the fire at all times, day and night. An elder will assist the keepers and offer prayer.
"The sacred fire serves the purpose of calling his spirit home and making sure that he travels on where he should be," Taylor said.
Teachers and students in the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board have been invited to the site Friday to learn about its history and the ceremony taking place.
A sunrise ceremony will commence Monday at about 5:30 a.m. followed by a water ceremony, a strawberry ceremony and the final reburial ceremony.
The ceremonies are open to the public but non-natives might be asked to leave during the final reburial ceremony, Taylor said.
Those who attend the site during the five days will be informed about the significance of the ceremonies, she said.
geagle@peterboroughexaminer.com
Aboriginal man's 2,050-year-old bones dug up in parking lot in 1960 to be reburied in spiritual ceremony
Pillaging and Plundering since 2006
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