Saskatchewan Sage

Regina lawyer Tony Merchant says a judge has refused to give class-action certification to a Métis lawsuit over residential school abuse of about 2,000 students who attended the Timber Bay residential school in Montreal Lake, Sask., between 1952 and 1994. Merchant says he plans to appeal the decision. The plaintiffs claimed they were physically, sexually and emotionally abused. The Timber Bay…

Little Pine First Nation is seeking support from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations in their plans to build a casino complete with sports betting, 800 slot machines, a 200-room hotel and a 1,500-seat convention centre in Lloydminster. However that support did not come in October because of a lack of delegates at the FSIN assembly. The vote will likely take place in December. Chief…

Work on a TransGas transmission line has come to a halt near Bethune, Sask., where ancient human bones were discovered. University of Saskatchewan forensic anthropologist Ernie Walker is examining the bones which seem to be the remains of a single person. Archaeologists have determined the remains are human and estimate the bones are more than 1,000 years old.
Carry the Kettle First…

The unemployment rate for Saskatchewan’s First Nation people is close to five times higher than non-Aboriginal residents, according to September’s labour force survey. Unemployment for First Nations people was 18.5 per cent averaged over a three-month period, compared to non-Aboriginals, who have a 3.8 per cent unadjusted employment rate, the lowest in Canada. The First Nations…

Saskatoon City Hall joined its Regina and Lloydminster counterparts in flying Métis and Treaty Six Territory flags permanently. Saskatoon held a special ceremony on Oct. 25. In attendance were Perry Bellegarde, grand chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians Nations, Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Felix Thomas, Métis Nation Saskatchewan President Robert Doucette, and the province’s…

Kawacatoose, Day Star and Muskowekwan First Nations have signed an opportunities agreement for the Jansen potash project with BHP Billiton. There will also be assistance for building First Nation businesses by giving entrepreneurs and community-owned business development access to opportunities at the project. The agreement will also see the sharing of environmental management practices and…

The Change of Command ceremony was held at the Regina Armoury on Nov. 6 when outgoing Commanding Officer, Assistant Commissioner Russ Mirasty, welcomed the incoming Commanding Officer, Chief Superintendent Brenda Butterworth-Carr. Butterworth-Carr is from Dawson City, Yukon, and a member of the Tr’ondeck Hwech’in Han Nation and becomes the first Aboriginal women to lead an RCMP division.…

Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River MP Rob Clarke wants to freeze funding for the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan as the organization is embroiled in internal struggle. Some MN-S executive members brought the issue before the Court of Queen’s Bench in Saskatoon asking for an injunction claiming that MN-S President Robert Doucette went against the organization’s constitution when he called the…

May Henderson, the provincial secretary for the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, has been named one of seven new recipients of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. Henderson is a well-known promoter of Métis rights and accomplishments, as well as tireless workers on such issues as murdered and missing Aboriginal women, poverty and community safety. “It is an honour to be nominated but it…

The Public Complaints Commission has determined that no further investigation is warranted regarding an allegation that on Jan. 21 a Saskatoon Police Service officer took 19-year-old Drayton Bull to an isolated area near the city in minus-30 degree temperatures and left him to walk home, a common practise decades ago that resulted in the name “starlight tours.”  The matter was…

A Saskatchewan Party ad attacking the NDP for supporting resource revenue sharing with First Nations has resulted in an outcry. Said Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde of the ad, “It is almost always First Nations people against everyone else in Saskatchewan. It’s almost as if they’ve written off 15 to 20 per cent in the province.” Bellegarde said the…

A new program designed to give Aboriginal students the skills needed to run a business was recently launched in Saskatoon at Oskayak High School. It marks the expansion of the Paul Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Program to 17 schools across Saskatchewan. Officials hope to eventually have the program run in all 28 provincial school divisions. According…

University of Saskatchewan researchers Sakej Henderson and Marie Battiste, two of the country’s top Aboriginal scholars and Indigenous knowledge advocates, have been elected to the Royal Society of Canada—one of Canada’s highest academic honours. “The contributions Sakej and Marie have made to the protection and promotion of Indigenous rights, knowledge and education have helped make…

First Nations University of Canada is celebrating a decade. “The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the University of Regina showed immense leadership 37 years ago to create the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College. We honour that legacy as well as the legacy of the ancestors of this land who understood the importance of education and ensured that it was part of treaty…

The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and Saskatchewan government have signed a bilateral protocol committing them to “working together to achieve positive outcomes for First Nations people,” as stated in a joint news release. The bilateral protocol establishes a political steering committee co-chaired by FSIN Chief Perry Bellegarde and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and…