What started out as a normal day for Gloria Eagle and Elwin Bear turned into a chance encounter and a once in a lifetime chat with Royalty. Gloria and Elwin were on hand to witness Prince Edward unveil the War of 1812 Monument. They have lots of ties to the event since it is their community, the Whitecap Dakota First Nation, that has donated the monument to the City of Saskatoon and their two children, Summer and Shayne were there with their school to sing O Canada for the Prince. But they sure did not expect to meet the Prince. The experience left Gloria almost speechless.

“Oh my God it was awesome. My husband said, let’s go over here and talk to him, so I didn’t think we would talk to him at all so we came over,” said Gloria, slightly out of breath from the encounter. “But he was awesome. I have never spoken to royalty in my life but it was really nice to see him. He was so well mannered and awesome that he came and talked to us like that.”

Prince Edward arrived at the riverbank in a motorcade and was greeted by Whitecap Dakota Chief Darcy Bear and Councillors Frank Royal and Dwayne Eagle and Senator Melvin Littlecrow, local politicians and dignitaries. After some welcoming comments, Prince Edward, Chief Bear, MP Lynne Yelich and Mayor Don Atchison did the final unveiling.

The monument is a donation from Whitecap Dakota First Nation to the City of Saskatoon to recognize and honour the contributions of the multicultural allies who participated in the War of 1812. The statue is near the Farmers Market, just up the block from the landmark statues of Chief Whitecap and Saskatoon founder John Lake.

Following the unveiling, Prince Edward went and greeted children from Whitecap who had assembled to sing for the Prince. He then walked the crowd allowing photos and stopping to visit with the occasional fan. That’s when he spotted Elwin and Gloria and he asked them where they were from. When they told him Whitecap, they certainly got his attention.

The significance of meeting the Prince and the unveiling wasn’t lost on Elwin. “This monument is special for the Native people of our country and good for the future,” he said when it comes to improving relations in Canada.

The City of Saskatoon has worked hard at encouraging partnerships and inclusion in areas of Saskatoon and Elwin and Gloria are proud of their ties to the area and with Whitecap’s history being so prominently displayed. “For this event, my kids sang and my mom, Elder Melvina Eagle, she also planted a tree down in this area with a bunch of other Elders a few years ago,” added Gloria. “We come here all the time to the riverbank and now we can tell our kids this is part of Whitecap now. I think this was an awesome opportunity to meet the Prince. And I think he’s handsome too!”