Saskatchewan Sage

Devon Fiddler of SheNative Goods Inc., and Heather Abbey of ShopIndig.ca are among 22 delegates who will travel to Istanbul, Turkey, in September for the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance Summit. Both women were chosen through a lengthy process by Futurpreneur Canada. Abbey is the founder and CEO of ShopIndig.ca, a platform by which Indigenous artisans can sell their designs and creations to a…

Residential school survivors at the Standing Buffalo First Nation are using their money to ensure the continuation of the lacrosse program. The reserve has operated a lacrosse program for its youth for the past six years, however, financial difficulties last year meant Standing Buffalo couldn’t afford to put a team together. About 80 residential school survivors in the community donated their…

On Aug. 18 and 19, the federal court in Saskatoon heard the case put forward by the Canadian government forcing five First Nations to abide by the First Nations Financial Transparency Act. Named by the federal government in the court action are Thunderchild, Ochapowace and Onion Lake bands in Saskatchewan and the Sawridge and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations in Alberta; the five First Nations…

Prime Minister Stephen Harper traveled July 24 to La Ronge and Regina to meet with government officials, including members of Saskatchewan’s Wildfire Management Centre, and some of the first responders, who had been fighting a series of severe wildfires in many parts of the province. While in La Ronge, Harper received a briefing on the current situation and met with provincial and municipal…

The MacKenzie Art Gallery swept the Saskatchewan Book Awards this year, taking home all three publishing awards for 7: Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., curated by Michelle LaVallee. It received the First Nations’ University of Canada Aboriginal Peoples’ Publishing Award, the University of Regina Faculty of Education and Campion College Award for Publishing in Education, and…

There could be a fifth urban First Nations reserve within the boundaries of Regina. Nekaneet First Nation wants to build a gas station and convenience store on the land located on the north edge of the city. The band will have to apply to Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Canada to convert the property into reserve land as well as sign an agreement with the city to pay the equivalent of property…

The construction of a 10-bed seniors lodge will begin towards the end of May on the Flying Dust First Nation. The lodge, to be located near Meadow Lake, is a joint venture between the First Nation and Habitat for Humanity. This marks the first time that the national organization has made a commitment to an on-reserve development project. “I think this came about because we were tired of having…

The two-week inquest into the death of Lee Bonneau, 6, has resulted in 19 recommendations to the Ministry of Social Services, the Yorkton Tribal Council Child and Family Services, and the RCMP. The Saskatchewan government has released a plan designed to improve the child welfare system and supports for vulnerable families and children. The new plan follows not only the inquest, but also a 2014…

Specific Claims Tribunal decision could see multi-million payment.

A decision by the Specific Claims Tribunal could be worth $4.2 million for Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation. The tribunal has ruled the government owes the band compensation for money lost during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. The government withheld annuity money from bands they labelled disloyal…

A $2-million 56-space early learning centre will be attached to the Whitecap Elementary School. Whitecap Dakota First Nation is contributing $260,000, while the federal government will provide $1 million and the province will provide $500,000 to help fund the construction. BMO Financial Group is contributing $250,000. The province has also committed to annual operating funding for 45 of the 56…

College provides reading material for resource centre

(From left) Yorkton Family Resource Centre representative Kim Gelowitz and Parkland College’s essential skills regional facilitator Kim Kyle-Zwirsky, along with students Lucille Lerat, Cynthia Shingoose and Jackie Gambler, look on as Delphine Shingoose displayed the contents of one of the book bags. The book bags…

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling against the Buffalo River Dene Nation, which wants to halt oilsands exploration on its traditional territory. Last year a Court of Queen’s Bench judge ruled against the Buffalo River Dene Nation’s challenge of exploration permits issued to Scott Land and Lease. The First Nation argued the permits were a violation of treaty rights and the…

University of Saskatchewan professor Eric Howe says the province is losing its battle against Aboriginal joblessness. According to recently released figures, Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 per cent in March, the lowest in Canada. However, the numbers for First Nations and Métis people, after years of gradual improvement, have stagnated in recent years. Métis unemployment…

The Council of Canadians was in Saskatchewan mid-April as part of a speaking tour in opposition to the multi-billion-dollar Energy East pipeline project. TransCanada proposes repurposing a 43-year-old existing pipeline across the southern Prairies and Ontario to carry oil, rather than natural gas, to the Irving Oil refinery at Saint John, N.B. “The purpose of the tour is to provide some…

Upon his visit to Canada in mid-April, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed an agreement valued at hundreds of millions dollars to buy uranium from Saskatchewan. India has entered into a contract with Cameco Corp. to purchase more than 3,000 tonnes of uranium to fuel India’s power reactors. “For an employer of 4,000 people in the province—45 per cent of them First Nations and Metis —it`s…