News

Planning underway for the 130th anniversary of the Woodland Cree negotiated adhesion to Treaty 6.

Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, Mary Culbertson, says she is honoured to be part of the commemoration celebration and its planning.

On Feb. 11, 1889, Woodland Cree negotiated adhesion to Treaty 6. They negotiated this adhesion on the Ice of Montreal Lake.

“Askipago” only the land, they asked about the water, the fish the fur bearing animals and were told “Tapwe Askipago” only the land the Commissioners wanted access to.

In this 2016 video Harold Johnson speaks and show the site at Molanosa, Saksatchewan where the adhesion to Treaty 6 took place.

The first ever Beardys and Okemasis Cree Nation Treaty Literacy Fun Night with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner was a fun, family event held Mar. 7, 2019.

“I am from the community of Beardys and attended CBMES, so it was very nostalgic to be back there at the elementary,” said Amy Seesequasis, OTC speaker’s bureau director and one of the staff facilitating the event.

About 75 staff, students and family members played games and did crafts at the Chief Beardys Memorial Elementary School.

“The Treaty Trivia games were a huge hit with all the students and it was busy all through the event,” Seesequasis said.

“They loved the opportunity to win prizes based on their Treaty knowledge.”

Along with rounds of Treaty jeopardy, kids learned about the Treaty medal, dreamcatchers, and mini-tipis through crafts.

“Parents enjoyed the opportunities to interact and learn as well; we encouraged their participation and also had fact sheets available,” Seesequasis said.

“It was an excellent opportunity to engage the parents and grandparents through activities geared towards their children/grandchildren.”

Seesequasis said while youth often learn about Treaties at school, many people in older generations were denied that opportunity.

“Through this event we wanted to have the whole family engage in activities that equipped them with knowledge and pride in their identity as Treaty people.”

The school had each classroom decorate a door or bulletin board with a theme centered around Treaties, culture and traditional knowledge. OTC staff were the judges and selected the Grade 3 class poster with the ducks talking about oral traditions and storytelling.

At the end of the night a Treaty Literacy Reading pack was raffled off. Entry to the raffle was gained by completing a session.

St. Michael Community School celebrated their commitments to Reconciliation and the Treaties with a Treaty Medal ceremony on Mar. 6.

Office of the Treaty Commissioner education director Brenda Ahenakew carried the Treaty medal in during the event’s Grand Entry.

After words about the importance of the day the medal was unveiled.

“And then the kids did some really awesome performances, Métis jiggers and Métis fiddlers played, there was a drum group, and a video,” Ahenakew said.

They had a good audience, about 150 people were packed into the school’s gym.

“It’s really incredible to see how those kids understand. They now understand what Treaty is, they know they are part of Treaty, and they recognize Treaty means good relations,” she said.

The medal unveiled today will be installed in the front entrance of St. Michael Community School. The Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools plans to install a treaty medal in 50 of their schools by the end of the year.

After Treaty 4 was signed on Sept. 15, 1874, Chief Piapot composed a flag song to mark the Treaty’s creation.

It can only be sung by people who have the rites to sing it.

Aaron Tootoosis learned the words, protocols and meaning during a healing gathering with his family in 2005.  The rites to sing this song were passed on to the Tootoosis family by the Kaiswatum Singers in July 1982 at the World Assembly of First Nations International Celebration that was held at Regina Beach.

He was able to share his learnings at an event with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner in late February. OTC staff learned the protocol required to hear him sing.

The Treaty 4 song’s words in Cree reflect the meaning of what people at that time saw with the signing. The words refer to the Queen (the great white mother) presenting her colours,  like a sacred exchange, and how those colours will fly here forever as they were presented by the Queen

On the other hand, the Treaty 6 song was designed as a universal song. The Treaty 6 song is similar to the Treaty 4 song in meaning, but has fewer words.  It can be used everywhere, recorded, and be sung by everyone. Please stand while it is being sung.

While the two songs are named for different Treaty territories, they do not refer to particular Treaties, but rather for the region where the composer lived.

Aaron also shared the Treaty 6 song with the OTC staff, which he graciously allowed us to record.

In celebration of the 10-year of the Treaty resource kit, a new Treaty resource is being rolled out for Kindergarten to Grade 9 classrooms across the province. The new teacher resource builds upon the success of the original Treaty resource kit and was created in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Elders and educators.

The Kindergarten to Grade 9 Treaty Education Learning Resources is easy to use and includes suggestions for integrating Treaty education into a range of subject areas at each grade. It provides sample learning activities and links related to resource and ensures First Nation and Métis content, perspectives and ways of knowing continue to be a priority with in Saskatchewan classrooms.

“Creating this resource supports all students in learning the true stroy of Canada’s history with Indigenous Peoples and share the important perspectives that surround the making of the Treaties,” said Mary Culbertson, Treaty Commission of Saskatchewan

“We are proud to have worked with our First Nations Elders and educators with the assistance of the Ministry of Education to make these additional Treaty resources a reality for use in the classroom.”

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner signed a strategic alliance with Saskatchewan public libraries.

The partnership is designed to improve Indigenous access to the public library system and for the libraries to provide treaty education and awareness.

“We’re all people who can make a change and that is what we are doing for future generations,” said Mary Culbertson, Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan.

“I look forward to all the great things that will come from this alliance.”

The Saskatchewan Committee on Indigenous Library Services is a driving force behind the positive changes happening in the libraries. Committee chairperson Ruth Barker, said they are working hard to break down barriers, while educating and informing patrons, staff, the board, trustees and the public.

“We’ve got so much work to do yet,” she said.

On Oct. 18, the Office of the Treaty Commissioner, Sunchild Law, and the Allen Sapp & Chapel Gallery hosted a Blanket Exercise in North Battleford.

“It was amazing,” said Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner, Mary Culbertson, of the event turnout. About 50 people attended the exercise, including Order of Canada recipients.

The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is a workshop that explores the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. Blankets arranged on the floor represent land and participants are invited to step into the roles of First Nations, Inuit and later Métis peoples.

According to the KAIROS website, “The workshop helps people to understand how the colonization of this land impacts those who were here long before settlers arrived. It engages people’s minds and hearts in understanding why the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples is often broken and how we can take action together.”

The exercise was facilitated by Iris Acoose and YTC RSHW Support Team.

On Sunday a walk and gathering was held to commemorate Orange Shirt Day in Yorkton.

After a walk there was a barbecue and ceremony. Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, Mary Culbertson, gave opening comments.  We sat down with her to ask about the day.

What was it like seeing all the orange shirts?
It was an emotional day for me since I grew up in the area and I was fortunate enough to walk with people from my own First Nation and relatives who are survivors. Motorists drove by honking and waving to show support and community members came out to share a meal together.

Why is orange shirt day important to you?
Orange Shirt Day celebrates resilience. It honours those children who never made it home from residential schools and those who have survived. Phyllis’s story about her orange shirt turned into a movement, a movement that is growing and bringing people together.

Anything else?
Thank you to the Yorkton Tribal Council for putting this day together and to the survivors who shared their stories, Ross Cadotte who attended St. Philips Residential School, Selena Brittain who attended Marieval Residential School and Evelyn Burns who attended Gordons Indian Residential School.

The Western Development Museum was packed on Sept. 30 and everyone was wearing an orange shirt.

The Central Urban Métis Federation Inc. hosted the community pancake breakfast to honour Orange Shirt Day. People received Reconciliation Saskatoon orange t-shirts as they arrived.

“Great turnout,” said one attendee as he surveyed the massive hall with tables full of Elders, families and friends eating pancakes, sausages, oranges and bannock. All the seats were full and the queue for food lined the room.

Rhett Sangster, the OTC’s director of Reconciliation and partnerships, and his family were among the hundreds who attended the event.

“It is great to see so many people wearing orange,” he said.

“It makes me hopeful as people come together, form new relationship, and learn more on our path to truth and Reconciliation.”

Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, BC, in the spring of 2013. It started with the story of Phyllis, who had her new orange shirt taken away on her first day of the school and has become a time to raise awareness of the devastating impact of the residential school system on Indigenous people and their descendants.

The date was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to residential schools, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the coming school year.

The phrase “Every Child Matters” has been used as part of the movement to recognize the value of every child and for communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for future generations.**

Across Saskatchewan events were held in the week leading up to the Sept. 30 date.