News

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner is pleased to join those across the country in celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day.

It’s a day not only to celebrate the vibrant culture and contributions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, but also a reminder of the importance of honouring Treaties and working towards full Treaty implementation.

On June 21, it is important to reflect on the history of our country, but also recognize that Indigenous cultures continue to flourish and these need to be celebrated. It’s also important to learn about the differences in beautiful languages, worldviews, and beliefs.

Across the Treaty territories there are events happening to mark the summer solstice and celebrate being Indigenous.

For so many years the celebrations of Indigenous Peoples were not allowed, languages were not able to be spoken, powwows and dances banned, and histories were not shared. Having a day like Indigenous Peoples Day starts to undo this harm, but protection for Indigenous languages, cultures, and communities needs to continue year-round.

Here are some films to get you started. (Trigger warning: these videos may be distressing for some. Support is available for anyone affected by residential schools’ intergenerational trauma through The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866 925-4419)

nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up

Bones of Crows

Indian Horse

We Were Children

Elementary School films available in one playlist from the National Film Board
Maq and the Spirit of the Woods (Eight minutes): This animated short tells the story of Maq, a Mi’kmaq boy who realizes his potential with the help of inconspicuous mentors. This video includes an education and study guide.

Vistas: Dancers of the Grass (Two minutes): This short film presents a stunning display of a stop-motion animation as it vividly depicts the majesty of the hoop dance, a tradition symbolizing the unity of all nations. This video includes an education and study guide.

Evan’s Drum (14 minutes): An adventurous young boy and his determined mother share a passion for Inuit drum dancing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

High School Titles in another playlist
Now Is the Time (16 minutes): When internationally renowned Haida carver Robert Davidson was only 22 years old, he carved the first new totem pole on British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii in almost a century. On the 50th anniversary of the pole’s raising, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter steps easily through history to revisit that day in August 1969, when the entire village of Old Massett gathered to celebrate the event that would signal the rebirth of the Haida spirit.

Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again (34 minutes): Mary Two-Axe Earley fought for more than two decades to challenge sex discrimination against First Nations women embedded in Canada’s Indian Act and became a key figure in Canada’s women’s rights movement. This video includes an education and study guide.

Red Path (15 minutes): This short documentary tells the story of Tony Chachai, a young Indigenous man in search of his identity. On the verge of becoming a father himself, he becomes increasingly aware of the richness of his heritage and celebrates it by dancing in a powwow. This video includes an education and study guide.

Stories Are in Our Bones (11 minutes): In this layered short film, filmmaker Janine Windolph takes her young sons fishing (in La Ronge) with their kokum, a residential school survivor who retains a deep knowledge and memory of the land. The act of reconnecting with their homeland is a cultural and familial healing journey for the boys, who are growing up in the city.

To Wake Up the Nakota Language (Six minutes): “When you don’t know your language or your culture, you don’t know who you are,” says 69-year-old Armand McArthur, one of the last fluent Nakota speakers in Pheasant Rump First Nation, Treaty 4 territory, in southern Saskatchewan. Through the wisdom of his words, Armand is committed to revitalizing his language and culture for his community and future generations. This video includes an education & study guide. You can also watch this video in Nakota rather than English.

Find something, learn, and celebrate today and all year long.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner congratulates the graduates of 2023.

Graduation is a significant milestone in a person’s life. It marks the beginning of change, saying goodbye to the patterns, classrooms and friends of the past few years and getting ready to embrace what life brings to you next.

Your perseverance to fulfill the Treaty Right to education the way our ancestors intended when they negotiated the Treaties is inspirational.

People will tell you it can’t be done until you do it. Then they might tell you it was luck. But, keep succeeding over and over again. Show them your spirit is strong. Show them what you can do.

We are proud of you, your impact, and we are excited to see what you do next.

As we celebrate Indigenous History Month alongside Pride Month, the Office of the Treaty Commissioner honours the diversity within our communities.

Pride allows us to hold up the courage and achievements of LGBTQ2S+ individuals and lift up their voices, experiences, and stories, fostering an environment of love, respect, and inclusivity.

The presence and contributions of Two-Spirit people are important to note during this month. The OTC encourages people to learn more about Two-Spirit identities. Out Saskatoon defines Two-Spirit as a “term that exists as an English placeholder as Indigenous communities uncover and reclaim the terms for gender and sexual diversity within their Indigenous languages. The term can be used by Indigenous people who are gender and/or sexually diverse.” (Read more here)

By learning more about Two-Spirit identities, we increase our understanding of gender diversity and challenge societal norms. We need to come together as a community Indigenous and non-Indigenous to create spaces where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.

By celebrating both Indigenous History Month and Pride means we together stand against hatred, challenge discrimination, and stop prejudice and intolerance.

In the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation through Treaty Implementation, take time to learn about Two-Spirit individuals and how to be an ally

Read:
The history of two spirit folks
Two-Spirit activists, community leaders and content creators
A Place in the circle: Understanding and Support Two-Spirit People
Out Saskatoon’s Allies and Solidarity

Watch:
What does Two Spirit mean?
Trans And Native: Meet The Indigenous Doctor Giving Them Hope

On June 1, 1873 accusations of thievery lead to the massacre of Assiniboine (Nakoda) Elders, warriors, women, and children staying in camps near two trading posts in the Cypress Hills. Only one of the wolfers was killed in the melee, a French-Canadian man.

The massacre of the Nakoda people at Cypress Hills was the reason why the North West Mounted Police marched from Winnipeg that year to try to bring order to what was seen as the lawless west. Nakoda men, women and children were massacred by American wolf hunters and whiskey traders. The hunters and traders surrounded the camp and used rifles to shoot the people there. The exact number of people killed that night has been lost to time. Some historians peg it around 20 people killed, or slightly more, where survivors of the massacre said it’s closer to 300.

There was no burial for the Nakoda people, their bones lay on the ground for years. The survivors, however, reached safety with some Métis a few kilometers away. The Montana traders packed their belongings and returned south, escorted by the wolfers. News of the massacre spread slowly. Abel Farwell, who ran a training post, reported it to the authorities in Montana, who relayed it to Washington. Meantime, Métis brought the same news to Winnipeg. Both reports reached Ottawa by the end of August 1873.

For three years the federal government tried to bring the murderers to justice. In July 1875, officers of the new North West Mounted Police (NWMP) traveled to Montana, but failed to extradite seven men. Another three, captured in Canada, were tried and acquitted in Winnipeg in June 1876. No witness under oath would incriminate the accused. All charges were dropped in 1882. While the US government cooperated, public opinion in Montana favoured the accused; in Winnipeg it was divided.

Parliament passed the needed legislation even before the massacre. Cabinet discussed the whisky trade early in August and on the 28th the Ottawa Citizen announced that the NWMP would be organized immediately. The next day saw the first published report in eastern Canada about the Cypress Hills Massacre while the first 150 members of the NWMP were already training in Manitoba.

Government thought the ensuing pursuit would strengthen Canadian authority by showing to First Nations that the justice system was impartial and as part of their Treaty, provide them a life free of interference from settlers and whiskey traders.  We see today that this is not the case and the NWMP and subsequently the RCMP have been part of the genocidal practices used to build Canada.

Although the Cypress Hills Massacre has faded from many modern memories, it is still remembered every spring with commemoration through the descendants of Ceg-A-Kin, the ancestors of the modern “Carry the Kettle” First Nations. They signed adhesion to Treaty 4 at Fort Walsh on September 25, 1877. The three Assiniboine Chiefs who signed the Treaty 4 adhesion were Man Who Takes The Coat (Cuwiknaga Je Eyaku, in the Assiniboine/Nakoda language), Long Lodge (Teepee Hoksa), and Lean Man (Wica Hostaka). Ochankugehe (Dan Kennedy) published a moving account by an Assiniboine survivor in 1972. The incident remains important to Nakoda in the area, where some are working to obtain protection for the site of the 1873 camp.

The Cypress Hills massacre shows the racism and oppression faced by Indigenous people, and in so many ways we see how this has continued today. The Office of the Treaty Commissioner urges people to learn the true history of this land as they begin their reconciliation journey, because without Truth there is no reconciliation.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner is excited to celebrate the first Treaties Recognition Week in Saskatchewan, running May 21-27 to commemorate the Treaties and the Treaty Relationship.

The initiative is an important way to advance and celebrate the Treaty Relationship, a key component of reconciliation. Having the provincially recognized week ensures the teachings of Treaty are given recognition and continue in the curriculum of our schools,” said Mary Musqua-Culbertson, Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan.

The initiative was introduced by students in the Grade 5 Class at École Lumsden Elementary and their teacher Justin Freitag as part of their diligent work on reconciliation and their drive to commemorate the Treaties and the Treaty Relationship.

“These students are the voices of the future of this province and their push for a Treaty Recognition Week is a commendable example of reconciliation. The OTC is also pleased to have the support of First Nation Communities from across the province support the initiative including from LLRIB Chief Tammy Cook-Searson, Sweetgrass Chief Lori Whitecalf and her Council by way of BCR, and Ocean Man Chief Connie Big Eagle.”

School divisions Horizon School Division and Prairie Valley School Division have also come forward to support the initiative.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner is asking for individuals, organizations, schools, and communities to get involved with Treaty Recognition Week by watching videos and using resources to support learning about the Treaty Relationship. Links to resources will be shared on otc.ca daily from May 23-26.

Day 1: Before Treaty
Day 2: At Treaty
Day 3: After Treaty
Day 4: Today

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner congratulates journalist Connie Walker for her 2023 Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award wins this week.

Her podcast Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s, with the team at Spotify’s Gimlet Media, won the Pulitzer on Monday for best audio journalism. Then on Tuesday it won the Peabody Award for its “commitment to recognizing the full history of the Indigenous community.”

Walker is a member of Saskatchewan’s Okanese First Nation.

“It is incredible to see an Indigenous journalist be recognized for the hard work she is doing sharing Indigenous stories. These stories she shares matters, and her stories of residential school survivors are so important,” said Treaty Commissioner Mary Culbertson.

“We hope that this win means even more people will learn about, and understand, the true history of residential schools in Canada.”

Listen to Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s here https://gimletmedia.com/shows/stolen

Warning: This podcast could contain material that could be triggering for some listeners. For those who need support as a result of the residential school experience, there is the  24-hour, toll-free and confidential National Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.

May 5^th is Red Dress Day in Canada, also known in as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People.

The day honours and brings awareness to Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people who have been disproportionately impacted by violence.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner calls on people to join thousands of others across Canada in wearing red.

The red dress has become a symbol for the thousands of Indigenous women who have gone missing or been murdered in Canada over the years. We know that often these deaths and disappearances are not investigated.

Red Dress Day started as part of the REDress project created by Indigenous artist Jamie Black who used red dresses to bring focus on the issue – wearing red and hanging a red dress became a way show solidarity with the families and loved ones left behind.

Take steps to raise awareness, not just on the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People, but throughout the year.\

Attend an event:
Check the OTC events calendar for one in your area

Read:
Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

Red Dresses on Bare Trees: Stories and Reflections on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

Keetsahnak: Our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Sisters

Watch:
Finding Dawn: a compelling documentary that puts a human face on a national tragedy – the epidemic of missing or murdered Indigenous women in Canada

Protect our Future Daughters: a short docu-drama that educates about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman movement and Red Dress Project

The Highway: a music video and song by N’we Jinan artists about the cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people along the highway of tears.

Red Dress: A song and music video with Amanda Rheaume feat. Chantal Kreviasuk about the impact of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner Director of Education, Elaine Sutherland facilitated a conversation as part of the Heritage Festival of Saskatoon this winter. The video is now available online.

The Speaker Series featured  Delvin Kanêwiyakiho, a Knowledge Keeper from Little Pine First Nation, and is with the Office of the Treaty Commissioners Speakers Bureau, and Michael Afenfia,  diversity, settlement and inclusion practitioner.

Founded in 1987, the Heritage Festival of Saskatoon is a destination for connecting to our past, our present, and our collective identity.

Watch the conversation now.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner welcomes today’s formal repudiation from the Vatican of the “doctrine of discovery,” theories backed by 15th-century “papal bulls” that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Indigenous lands and form the basis of some property laws today.

The statement from the Vatican says the “doctrine of discovery” is not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church.

The church “acknowledges that these papal bulls did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples.”

The statement also says the Vatican is aware that these documents “were manipulated for political purposes” and used “to justify immoral acts against Indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition from ecclesial authorities.”

This statement comes about nine months after a visit by Pope Francis to Canada in 2022 to apologize and meet with Indigenous People.

This is another step in working towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.

The statement from the Vatican also says there is “strong support for the principles contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The implementation of those principles would improve the living conditions and help protect the rights of indigenous peoples as well as facilitate their development in a way that respects their identity, language and culture.”

We encourage this support to continue and look to see the full implementation of inherent Treaty rights, UNDRIP, and the Calls to Action in Canada.

Read the Statement from the Vatican

Full news story: Responding to Indigenous, Vatican rejects Discovery Doctrine

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner attended Federal Court of Appeal hearing on Mar. 29 in Saskatoon’s Kings Bench.

Jessie Waldron, a day-school survivor, is arguing for her right to receive compensation for the most severe level of abuse she suffered. The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations was an intervenor in this appeal.

During implementation of the Day School Settlement Agreement, the claims administrator said survivors could not change their level of reported abuse or could not add additional information of more serious abuse.

“The ability of survivors to come forward in designated time frame in a prescribed framework such as the settlement processes that exist is traumatic,” said Treaty Commissioner Mary Culbertson.

“Many are not able to start the painful process of disclosing abuses they may have never spoke of previously. There should be no barriers due to administrative processes and interpretation by one party or another to limit compensation or the acknowledgement of survivors experiences.”

Claim levels range from Level 1: Verbal/Physical Abuse (where claims are worth $10,000) to Level 5: Sexual/Physical Abuse (where claims are worth up to $200,000) depending on what happened to the claimant while they were a student at day school.

Claims at higher levels required supporting documentation. And claimants were encouraged to put forward their full story in order to receive the highest compensation they could receive. Ms. Waldron initially filed a at Level 1, but refiled with the help of a lawyer outlining abuses that entitled her to a higher level of compensation. These additions were not accepted.

For the first five months of the claims process, until June 2020, the Claims Administrator allowed for progressive disclosure. The policy was then changed with two weeks’ notice. Ms. Waldron filed the updated claims after this date, but before their initially claims were adjudicated or payment received.

Ms. Waldron is looking to receive compensation that matches her experience, which she reported, but says the information provided was ignored by the Claims Administrator

The OTC will continue to watch this case and hopes for fair and just outcomes for all claimants.

Read more about the situation and prior court cases here
Efficiency Over Fairness: Interpreting the Day School Settlement