Alphonse Bird won a second three-year term as grand chief of the Prince Albert Tribal Council on Oct. 29. Bird, 34, soundly defeated A.J. Felix, 50, in a one ballot race. The count was 139 to 23. This is the second time these two men have battled over the position of grand chief. Felix was quoted in the media as saying, "the people have spoken. They obviously decided on their man and agenda." What may have attracted such overwhelming support for Bird was his proposed agenda to concentrate on the youth, economic development and treaty rights. "I will deal with big business, industries, forestry giants, and the provincial government to boost the economy," he was quoted as saying. (KW)
The Fishing Lake First Nation continued to do research to prove that Ottawa illegally obtained band territory in 1907. This is after the federal government already rejected their land claim - twice! But researchers discovered that three band members under the legal adult age of 21 had agreed to the surrender of land. Ottawa has relented and is agreeing to discuss compensation. Fishing Lake is one of 20 Saskatchewan bands which have filed specific land claims with the federal government dealing with land surrenders. (KW)
Two new schools were officially opened recently. The Whitecap Dakota/Sioux First Nation officially opened their elementary school on Oct. 25. The school has been in operation since the beginning of the school year. "The construction of this school is something we have been working toward for quite a while," said Darcy Bear, chief of the Whitecap First Nation. "Our children are very excited about the school, especially the much improved library facilities and the addition of the gymnasium, which enables the children to participate in a wider range of recreational activities. . ." The Whitecap Dakota Sioux Elementary School will replace the old school, which is now being used for recreation and community purposes. The new school has a capacity for 52 kindergarten students and 60 students in Grades one to six. On Nov. 1, the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation, 60 km west of Meadow Lake opened its new school. Chief Ray Mitsuing, of the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation, Ray Ahenakew, of the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, and Myler Savill, Regional Director General, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Saskatchewan Region, were on hand to officially open the new school. (KW)
The soon-to-be-build inhalant treatment centre on the Sturgeon Lake First Nation, 40 km north of Prince Albert, was officially named the White Buffalo Inhalant Treatment Centre at a ceremony on Oct. 21. White Buffalo was chosen because of a Lakota prophesy. In this prophesy, the Lakota believe that the White Buffalo Calf Woman will return to Earth when a white buffalo calf is born. Two years ago such a calf was born in Wisconsin. The White Buffalo symbolizes purity and a union of mind, body and spirit, said Debbie Dell, the executive director of the centre. The centre is still in need of funds and a fund-raising benefit concert is planned for this month. If you want more information about this concert or wish to donate, contact Debbie Dell at 953-7200. (KW)
Half of the vacancies at the Department of Indian Affairs are now being filled by Aboriginals under an employment equity program. In the program's first year, which began in June 1995, 49 per cent of the 463 hirings were Aboriginals. This is up from 19 per cent five years earlier. Twenty-two per cent of the department's 3,300 employees are Inuit, Métis or Indian. (CP)
This month I was in Saskatoon for the CANDO conference and the FSIN 50th Anniversary Powwow and Rodeo. A special thank you goes out to Todd Seeseequasis, drumkeeper at the powwow, for letting me use the master of ceremonies platform to take my photographs.
*****
I consider myself a good reader of maps. In fact, I rarely get lost. And if I do get lost, it doesn't take me long to find out where I am and get myself back to where I want to go.
But this month, even with a map, I got lost trying to get to the Sakimay Community Complex from Melville. The map indicated a shorter, more direct route than the one I had taken from the complex to Melville. So far, this particular map had not done me wrong and I had no reason to believe I would be led astray. But somewhere near Crooked Lake I took the only road available, and was on my way to Winnipeg.
Now, I do have to state that it was dark out with blowing snow, and I had never driven these roads before. But then, I shouldn't have tried to discover a new shortcut under those conditions. Instead of saving a few minutes, I spent an hour cursing the darkness, looking for non-existent road signs and wondering if the dirt road would ever wind onto a paved highway.
So, after meandering through southern Saskatchewan in the dark, I managed to get to the Sakimay Community Complex before the Halloween dance ended. The moon burned bright, even though the wind was blowing dark clouds across its face. It definitely looked appropriately spooky for a Halloween dance.
I got out of my car, grabbed my camera, and then, from behind a truck, leaped a screaming, masked ghoul aiming a sickle at my head.
Welcome to Sakimay, I thought.
A bunch of giggling children huddled by the front door.
"Did you get scared?" they all asked.
"You bet I did," I replied.
They all giggled some more and started challenging each other as to who would go out and challenge the ghoul who was still prowling the parking lot.
*****
I have to make my apologies to the Saskatoon Tribal Council for forgetting to mention them in my article last month about the diabetes conference in Saskatoon. The council was the driving force behind that conference and its theme. My omission of them was not intentional or malicious, just an oversight on my part. I'd like to thank Ann Venne for pointing out this error to me.
Once again, many apologies.
*****
Saskatchewan Sage is a community newspaper for all Aboriginal people
in Saskatchewan and it needs your input. I'm always available for comment
or suggestions during office hours at 1-800-661-5469, and would gladly talk
things over with you. Or, if you want, write me a letter. Your opinions
are important to me.
By Kenneth Williams
Sage Writer
PRINCE ALBERT
Aboriginal people make up a far greater percentage of the prison population than they do in the greater population. According to Lynne Godlien, a spokesperson for Saskatchewan's Department of Justice, the Aboriginal population in Saskatchewan's prisons is estimated at 70 per cent.
Another problem facing all prisoners and society is the cycle of offenders being released, re-offending and re-entering the prison system.
In an attempt to break this cycle, the Prince Albert Grand Council, along with the federal and Saskatchewan governments, has put forward a proposal for a healing lodge that would help integrate soon-to-be-released offenders into society by emphasizing Aboriginal culture and spirituality.
"It is an Elder-driven program," said Daryl Kingfisher, justice initiative co-ordinator for the council. "The Elders will have a key role in determining the direction of the program and will be the primary source of knowledge, wisdom and healing."
It was the Elders who saw that a need wasn't being met, he added.
"Aboriginal offenders in custody were learning their culture in jail, but there was a lack of follow-up in the community, a lack of help for them to live the positive life when they got out of jail," said Kingfisher.
The proposed lodge will be built on the Wahpeton 94B reserve, which is just north of Prince Albert.
"This land is where the Dakota people have been laid to rest - it's spiritual land," said Kingfisher. "It's where the Elders feel it should be located [because] it's conducive to the healing process."
"We're still waiting for final cabinet approval for the funding," said Bob Allen, director of the healing lodge.
"We're very confident this will get approved," Kingfisher added.
"It's something that the Justice Department of Saskatchewan [considers] very important," said Godlien. We want "a justice system more relevant for Aboriginal people."
The need for something to help Aboriginal offenders re-integrate into their communities has been debated a long time, said Al Ducharme, executive director of the council.
"We're trying to make that a reality now," he said.
The proposed healing lodge will house about 30 offenders who are near the end of their sentences or are eligible for early release. There will be 25 beds for those in the provincial system and five for those in the federal system.
Even though the healing lodge will be based on Aboriginal culture and spirituality, it will, theoretically, be open to non-Aboriginal offenders.
"The population we'll serve is anybody in the correction system," said Ducharme. But "our focus is Aboriginal people."
Regardless of who the healing lodge takes, its aim is to have the offenders "regain their own self-confidence and dignity, to re-enter their communities and be productive once again," he said.
As far as Godlien knows, this is the first Aboriginally-centred institution in Saskatchewan that helps re-integrate offenders into their communities.
"The facility will be geared towards providing more culturally and spiritually relevant [programs] for Aboriginals," she said. "This is the first time this has happened."
"We plan to use Elders and a cultural view of healing [such as] sweatlodges, sweetgrass - our traditional ceremonies," said Ducharme. We want to "revive the spiritual aspect of our people [so they] come out with skills to deal with some of the baggage they're carrying."
"This is seen as the correct way to go within our community," he continued.
There will be a screening process used to determine who will be allowed to use the healing lodge. Those who want to participates in the programs the lodge provides must first fit the criteria of a low-risk offender, as determined by the federal and provincial governments.
It will be "for low-risk offenders who are near the end of their sentence and are being introduced back into their communities," said Godlien.
These offenders will then have to apply to enter the program.
"They'll definitely have to want to go through this process," said Ducharme. "We'll have to ascertain that through our staff."
Elders recommendations will be taken seriously and carry a lot of weight in determining who will be accepted.
As it stands now, the healing lodge is focusing on the male population in the prison system.
"We hope to be able to help our female population as well, but we aren't clear how that will be done," said Ducharme. "There are practical problems with integrating both at the same time."
By Jane Brown
Sage Writer
PRINCE ALBERT
Two of the most traumatic events in the life of Lawrence Sayese were shared with prisoners.
A veteran of the Second World War, now enjoying a full and active retirement, Sayese was wounded in Italy and returned home to Saskatchewan were he eventually took a job at the Prince Albert jail.
Sayese lived in Glen Mary, Saskatchewan, north of Kinistino. He was 24 years old when he enlisted in the army, but had been in the militia for two years when the war broke out.
His first regiment was the Saskatchewan Horse Regiment 16/22. In the First World War, it was all cavalry. Later, it was renamed the 20th Armored Regiment.
"I spent 13 months in Labrador in 1941. When we went overseas, we all dispersed. I was with the 49th Edmonton when we landed in Italy in 1943."
On May 24, 1944, the young infantryman took a shell in the ankle. His memory of the events of that day are fading, but he still remembers a lot of the details.
"We ran into a dugout and a guy was hit in the backside. We found one guy dead in a wheat field. We were peeking around the corner of a house and, all at once, it was like my leg got burned. I looked down and saw the blood. They hauled me into the barn and cut my shoe off.
"They took me to the hospital in the same ambulance as a German prisoner who was hit in the neck. We teased him about being the master race and even though he understood English, he didn't answer us. He went to the POW hospital."
That was the last day of active duty for Sayese. After spending time in Canadian hospitals in Italy and England, and then a convalescent hospital, the war ended just as he was about to return to France.
"I was a proud Canadian and still am. If it wasn't for the rest of us who helped to free the country, so to speak, who knows? I'm proud of our way of living."
Many years later, after returning to the farm in Kinistino and then working for the Department of Natural Resources for 21 years, he got a job at the Prince Albert Correctional Centre.
"I was caught in the 1977 riot in jail on June 21. Two of us were taken hostage. You feel kind of funny - your own people. I felt I was a prisoner. They put a towel over our heads and took us down to the lower level. There was water up to our ankles. Then they took us to the second floor into a cell with some others. They threw us some kolbassa and told us to eat.
"The guys were drinking Valium. It was red and dripping down their chins. That's when I got kind of scared. They kept me all night, but kept the other guy longer. They never harmed me. Afterward, I had to go back and forth to court, but I didn't tell who the leader was, not to this day."
Although he never had children, Sayese married twice, in 1946 and 1979. He is now a proud grandfather of his wife's grandchildren. His second wife, Alice, worked in Prince Albert for the Department of Indian Affairs at a halfway house.
The Métis veteran has been able to overcome bad experiences and unpleasant memories because of his faith, his attitude and his ability to lead an active life.
"You've got to have a positive attitude. If you have that, instead of the other kind, and keep busy, you'll be fine."
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