Sask.’s largest bike pump track now open alongside new skate park in MGBHLM First Nation

“I like this park because there’s fun stuff over there and fun stuff over here,” he said. “Yeah, this is a fun place. This is, like, a really fun place.”

For these kids, the new Jorell Clay’s Rolling Thunder Memorial Skate Park and Bike Pump Track is more than a playground. It’s a place to gather, play and strengthen the community.

Kelton Curley of Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

The bike pump track (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

A park built for belonging

Spanning 2,000 square metres, the bike pump track now stands as the largest of its kind in Saskatchewan — a four-year vision realized entirely through community and business donations. The total cost of the park reached about $550,000.

Coun. Celest Sanders, who led the project, said it began with a simple concern: after school, the Nation’s children had nowhere to go.

She said her team wanted to give youth a healthy way to release their energy — and a place for families to gather.

“We thought it would be a great place for people to have celebrations,” she said. “To turn the core of the Nation into a more lively place for the kids and their parents to come.”

The new Rolling Thunder Skate Park and Bike Pump Track Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation. (Video/ Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation)

The skate park portion of the project. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

The bike pump track (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

Construction began in July 2025 and wrapped up just a month later. The project was built by Canadian Ramp Company, the same firm behind the pump tracks in North Battleford and Saskatoon. The site also features a pergola for picnics, benches for parents and open space for community events.

Designed by professionals and heart

The skate park portion drew help from professional skateboarder Jud Heald and Austrian Olympian Julia Brueckler, who designs skate parks for Canadian Ramp Company.

Heald said he grew up on a farm with nowhere to skate, so helping create this park felt personal.

“Being able to see a facility come around the kids and give them an opportunity to skate, ride or scoot on something like this is great,” he said. “It gives them something to do during the day rather than just get into trouble.”

Professional skateboarder Jud Heald performs a demo during the grand opening of Jorrell Clay’s Rolling Thunder Skate Park on Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation on Oct. 7, 2025. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

Brueckler said every feature was designed to be approachable — from low-sloped ramps to smooth transitions — so even beginners could feel welcome.

“You want to make sure it’s approachable for kids who’ve never stood on a skateboard before,” she said.

“My goal is always to design a park that can be enjoyed by anybody, no matter how old you are, no matter how good you are, and also no matter what your wheels of choice are.”

Visiting her first First Nation community in Canada, she called MGBHLM’s park “a very special project” because of how warmly the people embraced it.

“Here, people are just more appreciative and nicer to be around,” she said.

Austrian Olympian Julia Brueckler attends the grand opening of Mosquito First Nation’s new Rolling Thunder Skate Park on Oct. 7, 2025. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

Rolling Thunder’s legacy

The park’s name carries the story of Jorell Clay, a young man from MGBHLM remembered for his passion for skateboarding and his kindness toward others.

His sister Jenna Bear said his Cree name, which translates to Rolling Thunder in English, was given to him as a newborn during a sweat-lodge ceremony. Elders told the family his story “would be heard, just like rolling thunder in the sky.”

Clay spent much of his life at the Saskatoon skate park, where, Bear said, he was loved by the skate park community even when he faced mental-health challenges, addictions and homelessness — they cared for him and looked after him without judgment.

Family members of the late Jorell Clay gather during the grand opening of Jorrell Clay’s Rolling Thunder Skate Park on Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation on Oct. 7, 2025. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

The late Jorell Clay, whose passion for skateboarding inspired the creation of Jorrell Clay’s Rolling Thunder Skate Park on Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation. The new park, opened on Oct. 7, 2025, honours his legacy and love for the sport. (imaginarycrew-blog-blog/Tumblr)

Born with a congenital heart defect and later battling addiction and housing instability, he endured hardship but never lost his light.

“He was known to have a well known talents, among other things. But most importantly, he had a huge passion for skateboarding,” she said. “We’re just very honored, as a family, to be involved in such a huge, monumental gift.”

Chief Tanya Aguilar-Antiman, also known as Tanya Stone, said the idea for the park began with the youth themselves.

“When we asked our young ones what they wanted, they said a skate park,” she said. “We were surprised by that, because we’re not skate park people, but we all knew Rolling Thunder in Saskatoon loved to skate — and what a legacy to plant that seed in this next generation.”

(Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

She added that the skate park community carries the same sense of kinship and belonging found in Indigenous culture.

“Skate park families, they’re a family,” she said. “Just like a powwow family, just like a relay family, just like the round dance family or Sun Dance family.”

After the ribbon-cutting, the Nation held a community barbecue, with demos by Heald and Brueckler. Students from schools across the Nation joined in to celebrate and take their first rides on the new park.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com

by Kenneth Cheung

Sask.’s largest bike pump track now open alongside new skate park in MGBHLM First Nation

Designed by professionals and heart

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