Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
#explorealberta
In this video I am highlighting the annual pilgrimage to Lac Ste. Anne, a popular lake about 70 km NW of Edmonton, Alberta. The Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation is the most prominent Indigenous group in the area, and they have an oral tradition of a Nakota chief who had a vision of leading his people to the sacred lake. The local Nakota Sioux would name the lake Wakamne, which means God's lake. The area was also a meeting ground for various other Indigenous groups as well, and the local Cree tribes referred to the lake as Manitou Sahkahigan, which means Spirit lake. The first European settlers to the area called this body of water Devil's Lake - perhaps a rough translation of Spirit/God's Lake or perhaps referring to the legendary creature of the water. Father Thibault established a catholic mission at the lake in 1844 and quickly renamed the lake Lac Ste. Anne after Saint Anne, the grandmother of Jesus and mother of the virgin Mary. Father Lestanc established the first annual pilgrimage to the St Anne Shrine in 1899 and it has continued ever since. People claim that the site and the lake itself have healing powers, with many stories of people being healed of various addictions and mental and physical ailments. Today, thousands of people participate in the pilgrimage to the lake. Many people choose to walk the last number of miles to the lake on foot as a form of reverence and penance. In July 2022, Pope Francis visited the site during the annual pilgrimage while he was on his short Canadian reconciliation tour. The Saint Anne pilgrimage site was declared a National Historic Site in 2004 and it is the largest gathering of its' kind Western Canada. This pilgrimage is one of the many interesting stories from Lac Ste Anne county and I am looking forward to sharing more down the road! Please feel free to share your stories and experiences of the pilgrimage!
Please give this video a like if you got some value out of it, and consider subscribing to my channel - I upload at least one new video per week.
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#explorealberta
In this video I am highlighting the annual pilgrimage to Lac Ste. Anne, a popular lake about 70 km NW of Edmonton, Alberta. The Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation is the most prominent Indigenous group in the area, and they have an oral tradition of a Nakota chief who had a vision of leading his people to the sacred lake. The local Nakota Sioux would name the lake Wakamne, which means God's lake. The area was also a meeting ground for various other Indigenous groups as well, and the local Cree tribes referred to the lake as Manitou Sahkahigan, which means Spirit lake. The first European settlers to the area called this body of water Devil's Lake - perhaps a rough translation of Spirit/God's Lake or perhaps referring to the legendary creature of the water. Father Thibault established a catholic mission at the lake in 1844 and quickly renamed the lake Lac Ste. Anne after Saint Anne, the grandmother of Jesus and mother of the virgin Mary. Father Lestanc established the first annual pilgrimage to the St Anne Shrine in 1899 and it has continued ever since. People claim that the site and the lake itself have healing powers, with many stories of people being healed of various addictions and mental and physical ailments. Today, thousands of people participate in the pilgrimage to the lake. Many people choose to walk the last number of miles to the lake on foot as a form of reverence and penance. In July 2022, Pope Francis visited the site during the annual pilgrimage while he was on his short Canadian reconciliation tour. The Saint Anne pilgrimage site was declared a National Historic Site in 2004 and it is the largest gathering of its' kind Western Canada. This pilgrimage is one of the many interesting stories from Lac Ste Anne county and I am looking forward to sharing more down the road! Please feel free to share your stories and experiences of the pilgrimage!
Please give this video a like if you got some value out of it, and consider subscribing to my channel - I upload at least one new video per week.
Thanks for watching!
