The Office of the Treaty Commissioner, in collaboration with Mistawasis Nehiyawak, Beardy’s & Okemasis Cree Nation, One Arrow First Nation and Muskoday First Nation, held Treaty gatherings on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Both events were hosted by Beardy’s & Okemasis Cree Nation.

A kehte-ayak gathering took place on Monday and then Tuesday brought together youth from the participating nations to talk and learn about Treaty. The focus for both days was on Creation stories and one of the core Treaty doctrines: wahkohotowin.

“We are here on our second youth Treaty gathering, where we are meeting with the youth on providing Teaching Treaties to our youth from One Arrow, Muskoday, Beardy’s, and Mistawasis as our new Treaty gathering group,” said One Arrow First Nation Chief Janine Baldhead.

“I would definitely encourage everyone to start talking with Elders in your community or if you are in an urban area, reach out to the tribal councils, to the Treaty Commissioner’s office, to your leadership, on the Elders that are in your areas, to start learning your inherent rights [and] to truly understand how our Treaty rights came to be.”

The four participating nations plan to host a total of four gatherings within the year, with Mistawasis Nehiyawak and Muskoday First Nation planning to each host the next gatherings. The gatherings came about after youth at the first youth-focused event in November 2025 asked to come together more often to learn about Treaty. Elders at this event also requested their own Treaty gathering to share knowledge and renew their understanding.

“We heard from the Elders and youth that they really appreciated having this opportunity to learn as we never learned our history in schools, coming from our side and not the colonial version,” said OTC Director of Education, Elaine Sutherland. “This is truly inspirational, and lights the fire to keep going, to keep making a difference.”

Treaty Commissioner Dr. Kathy Walker said all other Treaty nations are invited to collaborate with the OTC on similar gatherings in their regions.