News

Today is an important occasion to honour and commemorate the remarkable social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. International Women’s Day not only serves as a time for celebration, but also as a call to action to advocate for the complete equality of women and gender balance.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner encourages everyone to use the day to express gratitude to the women whose strength and resilience inspire them daily.

In Indigenous communities, women are revered as life-givers and caretakers of life, playing vital roles in their communities. Indigenous women are constantly working towards progress, often championing their causes without recognition or credit. Also, we are pleased to see the resurgence in the recognition of women’s leadership roles within First Nations and organizations.

That said, women still encounter barriers. There remains a considerable journey ahead to ensure the safety, health, and increased participation of Indigenous women in society.

At the OTC, we stand in solidarity against any form of discrimination against women. We strive to cultivate positive Treaty relationships founded on principles of mutual recognition, respect, and shared responsibility, while also encouraging women’s involvement in leadership and governance at all levels.

We need to work together to create a safer world for women and girls, particularly Indigenous women and girls. In our work we aim to amplify the MMIWG Calls to Justice and we appreciate those who join us in exploring avenues for meaningful change.

This International Women’s Day, take a moment to acknowledge the women in your lives—mothers, daughters, wives, aunties, friends, and colleagues—and commit to fostering an environment where they, and all women, can be safe, healthy, and free to pursue their dreams.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner celebrates the work of Commissioner Mary R. Musqua-Culbertson as she completes her term as the first female Indigenous Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan.

Throughout her tenure, the Commissioner believed that the truth of Indigenous People in Canada must be honoured and cannot be ignored.

“We must understand the intergenerational impact and harms of residential schools and other breaches of Treaty. Our hearts must always be seeking compassionate understanding of what Indigenous people have had to and continue to endure,” Musqua-Culbertson said.

Her focus was on increasing the understanding of the Treaties, not just historically, but what it means today.

During her time in office, the Commissioner and OTC staff travelled to communities to meet with leaders, youth, and elders to shape the discussion on the spirit and intent of Treaty. We sat as part of Treaty and national gatherings, conferences, and ceremony.

The office celebrated the 30-year anniversary of OTC, with the unveiling of a new logo and a well-attended community round dance.

There were many new initiatives that were started over the past 5-year term, that were designed to further understanding on the Spirit and Intent of Treaty:

The Vision for Truth and Reconciliation through Treaty Implementation, shaped around four overlapping and continuous areas of work: a shared understanding of our history, vibrant cultures and worldviews, authentic relationships, and systems that benefit us all.

Office of the Treaty Commissioner Youth in Service project, which brought students from around the province together to learn from each other and work on reconciliation. This project included a cultural exchange trip to Fond-du-Lac.

Treaty Commissioner created the OTC Library & Archives to make sure the resources held by the office would be shared with the public. It has recently been renamed the Mary R. Musqua-Culbertson Library & Archives in her honour.

Treaty Learning Journey: Let’s Talk Truth, which took the popular Teaching Treaties in the Classroom and made it available to a wider audience beyond educators. This led to the creation of the first annual Treaty Learning Journey: Let’s Talk Truth Conference and to the first Treaties Recognition Week in Saskatchewan.

In partnership with the Province of Saskatchewan, the OTC started the process to mark Treaty boundaries. This includes signs in Indigenous languages erected on Highway 11 and 16 at the Treaty 4 and 6 boundary; Highway 39 at the Treaty 2 and 4 boundary and Highway 1 at the Treaty 2 and 4 boundary.

The development of a process to develop Reconciliation Action Plans, completing them for six organizations, including the Law Society of Saskatchewan and the Saskatoon Police Service.

The expansion of a network of Reconciliation Circles to 12 communities across the province – spaces where local Indigenous and non-Indigenous community leaders come together to learn, build relationships and act for truth, reconciliation and Treaty implementation.

A 20-foot Treaty timeline displaying key milestones of Treaty in the Treaty Territories that make up Saskatchewan.

Treaty Elders Council, which includes 10 Elders from all five Treaty areas in the province and overseas the Library and Archives oral history collection, advises the OTC Treaty Table process, and helps to set policy for research.

With Commissioner Musqua-Culbertson, the OTC celebrated the successes of women leaders for their honours and appointments and called attention to the need to implement the recommendations of the Final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She spoke at the House of Commons in the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs and was a constant advocate for the acceptance and implementation of UNDRIP. We saw the Beardy’s Treaty Medal repatriation and the exoneration of Chief Poundmaker.

During her time as commissioner, Musqua-Culbertson was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for her service. She also ensured many other notable people were recognized for their work by nominating them for the award.

Even as she moves on to new opportunities, the OTC will continue to answer the Commissioners call that we all must support the work of Treaty education, Treaty rights, and Truth and Reconciliation through Treaty Implementation.

For all your work Commissioner, Migwec, Tiniki, Hiy Hiy.

Today is National Ribbon Skirt Day, an opportunity to recognizes and honour the ribbon skirt as a symbol of Indigenous women, identity, ceremony, and tradition.

First observed last year, National Ribbon Skirt Day was created after 10-year-old Isabella Kulak, a member of Cote First Nation, shared her experience facing shame for wearing a handmade ribbon skirt to a formal day in 2020 at her elementary school.

Isabella’s story serves as a reminder that we still have to overcome racism and inequity for Indigenous People and it emphasizes our need to have a collective effort to be inclusive. National Ribbon Skirt Day is a step towards this.

Today, we witness women, girls, and gender-diverse people proudly wearing ribbon skirts to many different occasions.

In my capacity as Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, I proudly wore a ribbon skirt to the swearing-in ceremony of our Lieutenant Governor and when meeting the Governor General. Our staff regularly wear ribbon skirts to important events, gatherings, ceremonies, and celebrations. For me, the ribbon skirt represents formal wear, a celebration of resilience, culture, and identity.

On this National Ribbon Skirt Day, take time to learn more about the ribbon skirt and about its connection to the earth and sacred medicines, and its role in ceremony.

I look forward to working together as a provincial community to reach a place where Indigenous people do not have to be afraid of discrimination and look forward to wearing clothing that celebrates resilience, culture, and identity.

Learn more National Ribbon Skirt Day Act

At the Office of the Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, we like the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan, work to ensure the preservation of identity, language, culture, and worldviews. We work towards reconciliation through education and understanding of a shared history. And we all want to see an end to racism and injustice.

Indigenous Peoples in Canada have survived failed attempts to remove these key components of culture, identity, and language, which is why it’s so important we work together to make Canada strong by preserving these.

Commissioner Musqua-Culbertson was pleased to be able to introduce Maureen Lea Keewatin Desjarlais and Angus Lee Desjarlais of Kawacatoose First Nation as the first recipients of the Leading Together Individual Award.

They created the All Nations Gathering Pow Wow as part of their ceremonial mourning journey for their daughter. They consistently show their immersion in nehiyaw traditions, meaningful relationships with Elders, and innovative ways to share culture with non-Indigenous people.

Recognized for the Leading Together Organizational Award was the Treaty Land Sharing Network in Treaty 4 Territory for their work in connecting farmers and Indigenous land users.

The Leading Together Award recognizes work with long-term impact towards reconciliation.

The Last Post Fund (LPF) is pleased to announce the launch of its short documentary film, The Indigenous Veterans Initiative: Finding Unmarked Graves.

The film showcases the work that the LPF’s Indigenous Veterans Initiative (IVI) has carried out in collaboration with Indigenous communities since its launch in 2019. It follows the journey of three Indigenous researchers based in different corners of Canada, as they share their process for finding the unmarked graves of Veterans in their community.

Specific to Saskatchewan, the film follows the work of Gloria LaPlante, a schoolteacher aid from Kawacatoose First Nation, who is committed to remembering the Veterans in her community.

Not only does LaPlante organize the community’s yearly Remembrance Day events, but she worked with the LPF to find the unmarked graves of more than ten Veterans. In the film we witness the installation of eight grave markers, with many families in attendance at the ceremony.

LaPlante was also particularly successful in helping find the traditional names of Indigenous Veterans in her community, allowing the LPF to add them to new and existing Veterans’ grave markers.

You can watch the film here

Today, the Government of Saskatchewan and the Office of the Treaty Commissioner unveiled a series of new highway signs to be placed in the Estevan, Moosomin, Lanigan and La Ronge areas to highlight more Treaty boundaries across the province – and will be seen by thousands of motorists daily.

“I appreciate the ongoing collaboration of the Office of the Treaty Commissioner and the Government of Saskatchewan in providing prominent highway signs that help bring attention to the importance of the Treaties,” Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty said.

“These provincial highway signs are symbols of our government’s continuing reconciliation journey and ongoing work to support Treaty education initiatives in Saskatchewan,” Minister Responsible for First Nations, Métis and Northern Affairs Don McMorris said. “We are proud to continue to work in partnership with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner on our ongoing path of reconciliation.”

“These signs allow people to recognize and understand the Treaty territories that were here long before the creation of the province,” Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan Mary Musqua-Culbertson said. “The highways cross these territories and it is important that it is acknowledged.”

Read the full release from the Government of Saskatchewan.

Additional coverage:
Sask. treaty commissioner, province unveil more treaty boundary highway signs (The Star Phoenix)
Four new treaty boundary signs to be put along Saskatchewan highways (Global News)
Sask. Government and treaty commissioner unveil new treaty signs (MBC Radio News)

On Oct. 12, team members from the Office of the Treaty Commissioner were pleased to join about 250 people at the Heart of Treaty 6 Reconciliation Gala.

“From the traditional ceremonies that took place throughout the evening, to the speakers that shared their stories, everyone was engaged. I think this event is beneficial as it brings like-minded people with culturally different backgrounds together for an evening, helping with truth and reconciliation,” said OTC student mentor Tori MacDonald.

Rhett Sangster, OTC director, reconciliation and community partnerships spoke during the event, telling the story of how the Heart of Treaty 6 Reconciliation group was first created. Organizations from Lloydminster, Onion Lake First Nation, Poundmaker First Nation, St. Walburg, and Turtleford signed a “Commitment to Relationships and Trust,” and committed to working together through participation in a tobacco ceremony.

The keynote speaker for the event was the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Russ Mirasty, who spoke about his experience as an Indigenous person attempting to enter the RCMP. He stressed the importance of relationships in advancing truth and reconciliation.

Howie Miller’s comedy performance ended the evening with laughs.

The Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, Mary Musqua-Culbertson, travelled and visited through Treaty 4 territory and participated in a Walk for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

At the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Truth and Reconciliation Sturgeon Landing Gathering, OTC executive director Angie Merasty spoke about hearing from survivors and honouring their stories, she thanked them all for their sacrifice because many would not be here today if not for them. She spoke about her late father who was part of the Indian Hospitals and contracted TB at a young age. She also spoke about the good work OTC does in educating about truth and reconciliation, research and archives, treaty education, etc. After Angie finished she was able to give to Survivors birthday cards from children at Vanscoy School. These students learned that children in residential school were unable to celebrate their birthdays and wanted to send greetings to do a small part to write those wrongs.

Our director of education, Elaine Sutherland spoke about Indigeneity; Treaties; the Indian Act; Residential School and Intergenerational trauma, at an event with Saskatchewan Polytechnic called Embracing the Circle: Strengthening Indigenous-Newcomer Relations. There was lots of good conversation and questions.

In La Ronge, director of research and archives Sheldon Krasowski spoke at the naming of the main bridge, now called the Reconciliation Bridge. By giving it the name Reconciliation Bridge, it will help bring the tri-communities of La Ronge, Air Ronge, and the Lac La Ronge Indian band together. More than 7,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day, not only local traffic but tourists, workers for the northern mine sites, and trucking companies cross it.

Rhett Sangster, the OTC director of reconciliation and community partnerships, volunteered at the Walk for Reconciliation in Saskatoon by supporting Elders and Survivors. Many others from our office also went out in the cold to join this walk.

Members of the OTC team also were at the Saskatoon Tribal Council powwow, some went to the events at Wanuskewin Heritage Park, and others made the day about consuming information about residential schools and their impacts, including attending 94 Calls to Action: A Round-Table Talk about Truth and Reconciliation in Canada hosted by the Saskatchewan Intercultural Agency.

This day is important to the OTC team, and everyone was so pleased to be part of it, in one way or another. We know that through kindness, patience, and understanding, we can do better, and we have to do better.

It is together that we become stronger and make our Treaty territories a safe and healthy place for all of us. It is about walking together on a journey to create a new, shared future for our children, grandchildren and generations to come.