News

Graduation is a significant milestone in a person’s life. It is an accomplishment that deserves recognition, so with this in mind, the Office of the Treaty Commissioner congratulates all grads!! Your perseverance through this pandemic to fulfill the Treaty Right to education the way our ancestors intended when they negotiated the treaties is inspirational. We must make them proud and persevere, creator never puts before us more than we can endure.

You’ve worked so hard and deserve the recognition coming your way.  Take pride in how far you have come, we are looking forward to seeing how far you can go. There are so many ways you can and will be able to have an impact. Show people your spirit is strong. Show them what you can do.

Congratulations!

On June 22, the Office of the Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner co-hosted the official opening of the Stoney Knoll Interpretive Site in a public ceremony.

The Stoney Knoll First Nation tells a story of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations on the prairies and how two opposing groups found a path of reconciliation through the barriers set up by the past mistakes of the Canadian Government, and offer a chance to right these wrongs.

Reserve 107, with the focal point of Stoney Knoll (opwashemoe chakatinaw) in the RM of Laird, between Waldheim and Rosthern, was land originally reserved by Treaty for the Young Chippewayan Cree band. After 1897 it was illegally taken and sold to Mennonite and Lutheran settlers.

In 2006, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by representatives of the Young Chippewayan First Nation, Mennonites and Lutherans, to work together for “a timely and respectful resolution of the issues which history has left to us.”

This new Interpretive Site grew out of the vision of local Mennonite landowners Wilmer & Barb Froese, who desired to have a permanent, visible record of this on-going story of reconciliation.  The site has been developed by the Stoney Knoll Historical Committee in collaboration with the local St John’s Lutheran congregation, members of the Young Chippewayan/Stoney Knoll First Nation, and the Office of the Treaty Commissioner.

The site is intended to be a welcoming space for Indigenous people and others who have heard the Reserve 107 story. It holds significant cultural, spiritual, educational, and tourism value for the region and beyond.

“This is a story of bridge-building and peacemaking,” said Wilmer Froese.

At the site is a series of storyboards with the history and significance of the area. There is also a gathering circle where guests can pause for reflection, discussion, or prayers. At the entryway will be a wood-carving art, “Portal of Healing” by Osler artist Michelle Thevenot.

Learn more about the relationship between these communities in the 2015 award-winning documentary Reserve 107: Reconciliation on the Prairies.

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

Every June 21, it is very important that Canadians take time to celebrate the heritage, cultures, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people. It’s 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 our beautiful languages, worldviews, and beliefs.

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 now starts to undo this harm, but protection for our languages, cultures, and communities needs to continue year-round.

There are so many exciting events happening around Saskatchewan to celebrate the day from a powwow in North Battleford and a flag raising in Nipawin, to events at Victoria Park in Saskatoon, and the afternoon of events in Regina. In Pinehouse there is the Pinehouse Elders Gathering, and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band celebrates the Woodland Cree Wellness Centre opening. We encourage you to find something near you and celebrate.

The Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, Mary Culbertson, was thrilled to attend the event for the event to celebrate Chief Marie-Anne Day Walker-Pelletier.  Canada Post launched a stamp recognizing her achievements and service to her community on June 15 on Treaty 4 territory.

As leader of the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan, Chief Marie-Anne Day Walker-Pelletier served the most consecutive terms ever by an elected First Nations chief in Canada.

She is a committed advocate of social reform, and an inspiration to women leaders across the country. Day Walker-Pelletier was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2018 and invested in 2019. She also received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2021.

We thank her for her perseverance, for kindness, for role modelling the principles in her leadership at home, regionally, nationally, and on the international stage.

The stamp becomes available on June 21, 2022, National Indigenous Peoples Day, along with stamps honouring Indigenous leaders Harry Daniels and Jose Kusugak.

More information and links to the stamps

The Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, Mary Culbertson, and members of the OTC team were thrilled to travel to Winnipeg late last week to meet with Manitoba Treaty Commissioner Loretta Ross and the team from the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba.

It was an excellent opportunity for networking and knowledge sharing, as both commissions are working hard to ensure full Treaty implementation. The relationships built during these meetings will continue through collaborations moving forward.

While there, the OTC Director of Research and Archives Sheldon Krasowski recorded an episode of the Manitoba TRCM podcast, Let’s Talk Treaty about his book “No Surrender, The Land Remains Indigenous.” Listen to it here

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner supports the call by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and Muskowekwan First Nation to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to arrange for the July 2022 Papal visit to include the Muskowekwan Indian Residential School.

As the last standing residential school in Saskatchewan, it’s important that the head of the Catholic church sees where abuses took place, to truly begin to understand the long-standing impacts of the school system.

“While a visit by the Pope to Canada to visit Indigenous communities fulfils a promise made to the delegation that visited in early 2022, it is not complete without a visit to Saskatchewan, the province with one of the highest numbers of Indian Residential Schools in the country. The Muskowekwan Indian Residential School is a reminder of the abuses against our people, and must be witnessed and the true history understood, for reconciliation to be possible,” said Mary Culbertson, Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan.

“Along with witnessing the impacts, we call on the Catholic church to make records available that residential school survivors, their families and their communities are so desperately seeking.”

During an event at the school to make this call to action on Monday, FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said they have invited the papal delegation to the province. “We had told them, you come to our region, our traditional lands, where there’s a large standing school here in Muskowekwan … where it means something for the people.”

The event also featured an opening prayer from Joan Manitopyes, honour song from Grey Buffalo, statements from Chief Jamie Wolfe, Culbertson, Bishop Donald Bolen, and Councillor Vanessa Wolfe. Survivors also shared their words including Roland Desjarlais, Elaine Severight, Leon Wolfe Sr., and Marie-Anne Day Walker-Pelletier.

“I call on not only the Holy See but the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to use their influence to have the Holy Father attend the Muskowekwan Residential School which still stands as our Canadian stark reminder of the genocide the government and the church worked in partnership together to erase our Indigenous peoples,” Day Walker-Pelletier said.

The Yorkton Tribal Council residential school support workers also attended the event.

If you are a residential school survivor or have been impacted by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll free line at 1-800-721-0066.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner calls on you to wear red on May 5.

May 5 is a day when we remember and honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Canada. Red Dress Day is about raising awareness of the crisis.

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.

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.

National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ final report showed that human and Indigenous rights abuses are the root causes behind Canada’s rate of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

Along with wearing red, the OTC calls on people to become familiar with the Calls to Justice from the inquiry, and work to make their workplaces, organizations, and lives, safer for all Indigenous Peoples.

We know that in the past year people have become more aware of the abuses and injustices faced by Indigenous People, with the remains of children being found on former residential school sites. People are upset and they want to know what they can do. Awareness of the prejudice faced by Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people, and understanding the truth of the residential school system are an important step, as all of this trauma is connected.

Along with wearing red, and learning more, consider attending an event on May 5, like the candle-light vigil at Wanuskewin hosted by FSIN.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner applauds the actions of Bishop Murray and the steps they are taking towards reconciliation.

The event began with a Grand Entrance and the Treaty 6 song. Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan Mary Culbertson was pleased to speak alongside other dignitaries from across the community.

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner listened to the formal apology from Pope Francis delivered today from the Vatican to the Indigenous delegation visiting Rome.

We humbly thank the survivors and delegates from across Turtle Island and especially Dr. Marie-Anne DayWalker-Pelletier for her bravery as a survivor in attending the audience with the Pope. She presented him with small beaded moccasins, not as a gift but as a commitment. He must bring them back in a visit to Canada which he also announced today.

Particularly notable were the Pope’s words about why he feels indignation after hearing the stories from elders, youth, and residential school survivors – “because it is not right to accept evil, and even worse to grow accustomed to evil as if it were an inevitable part of the historical process” – he said before speaking on how ideological colonization remains rampant all over the world.

The acknowledgement of the systemic discrimination faced by Canada’s Indigenous people is an important step in the work of the Catholic church in reconciliation. But it is only a small step.

The residential school system shattered the Treaty promise of education for Indigenous People. It’s one of many Treaty promises that still remain unfilled today. Full implementation of Treaty is key to reconciliation.

There needs to be unrestricted access to the records that residential school survivors, their families and their communities are so desperately seeking. This information cannot reverse the damage caused by residential schools, but it can support the healing process.

There needs to be an apology for the abuses inflicted through residential schools, when the Pope comes to Canada on his trip to visit Indigenous families. This was requested by residential school survivors and their wishes need to be honoured. Muskowekwan First Nations has one of the few remaining schools left standing. The OTC hopes and encourages the Pope to make the trip to our Treaty 4 territory and to Muskowekwan for this apology.

Today’s apology has opened a path for many to move forward, while others still feel conflicted. Emotions are high. We need to continue the journey along this path towards reconciliation, which means continuing the work to seek truth and justice, and raise awareness when it comes to the true history of the genocide that has taken place. Truth comes before reconciliation. This truth must be honoured and cannot be ignored. We must understand the impact and harms of residentials schools intergenerationally.  Our hearts must always be seeking compassionate understanding of what Indigenous people have had to and continue to endure.

If you are a residential school survivor or have been impacted by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419, or the Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll free line at 1-800-721-0066.

Every year on March 21, we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

It’s a day to recommit to making change and to working towards the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Office of the Treaty Commissioner calls on individuals to join us by investing in true Reconciliation and relationship building, while having zero tolerance for any form of discrimination.

This year we ask you to become involved by watching We Will Stand Up, a film by Tasha Hubbard looking at the death of Colten Boushie, the acquittal of Gerald Stanley, and the impact of colonialism and racism on the prairies.

In February the OTC hosted a screening and panel discussion with Treaty Commissioner Mary Culbertson, Colten’s mother Debbie Baptiste, his uncle Alvin Baptiste, Elder Jenny Spyglass, lawyer Eleanore Sunchild, Treaty Land Sharing Network member Mary Smilie, and FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron.

We invite you to watch the film, We Will Stand Up (available for free here at the National Film Board), and then watch this important discussion. Share it with friends and family, get everyone you know involved in eliminating racial discrimination.