A Sacred Space for Healing and Remembering
“When someone dies, there is often a gravesite, a place to gather and remember; when someone vanishes, there is a void.” — Lori Whiteman
Beside the RCMP Heritage Centre on the grounds of Regina’s historic Depot Division lies a place unlike any other: The Place of Reflection. Created to honour the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirited+, it offers peace, healing, and hope to all who visit.
Born from personal grief and shared resilience, the Place of Reflection is both sacred space and community gathering place. It stands as a powerful symbol of remembrance, resilience, reconciliation, open to all, and rooted in traditions and stories of the land.
Inspired by Story. Carved from Purpose.
In 2007, Plains Cree sculptor Lyndon Tootoosis created I’ll Wait Here, a carving of a Kohkum holding a medicine wheel, inspired by an ancestral Nehiyaw story. The work deeply resonated with Lori Whiteman, whose mother, Delores “Lolly” Whiteman, is among Canada’s Missing Indigenous Women.
Lyndon and Lori recognized there was a need for families to have a place to draw strength and healing from, and that a place like this could be a powerful place for reconciliation, healing and learning. Together with Elders, artists, and the RCMP, their vision grew into the Place of Reflection, a sacred stone medicine wheel.
A Living Sculpture of Memory and Meaning
The circle began with more than 1,400 stones, representing the estimated number of missing and murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirited+ in Canada at that time. At its centre lies the buffalo heart stone, a unique stone symbolizing the deep relationship between the buffalo and the First Nations Peoples. The stones, gathered from an ancient Qu’Appelle Valley campsite and safeguarded for generations, carry generations of history and ceremony.
Over the years, more stones have been added—including after the discovery of unmarked graves at Kamloops Residential School and the nearby Regina Indian Industrial School, each deepening the circle’s purpose and honouring those whose stories are still unfolding.
A Place for Everyone
The Place of Reflection was created to honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirited+, but it is a place for everyone. Visitors from every culture and background are invited to spend time in the circle, leave stones or offerings for their lost loved ones, and join in the ceremonies held every year since 2017.
The Place of Reflection is a living symbol of truth, healing, and connection among the grandfather stones. It invites each visitor to pause, reflect, and carry forward a commitment for our shared humanity drawn from truth, and reconciliation.