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Tribal Council History

A Brief History of the Saskatoon Tribal Council

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and Tribal Council Convention Act

 
Memorandum of Agreement:
 
February 23, 1982, the Saskatoon Tribal Council and the Federal Government of Canada signed a Memorandum of Agreement which recognized the STC as a legal and incorporated entity of eight member bands in the Saskatoon District. These bands included: Beardy’s/Okemasis, Kinistin (Chagoness), Mistawasis. Muskeg Lake, Muskoday (John Smith), One Arrow, Whitecap (Moose Woods) and Yellow Quill (Nut Lake).
 
Tribal Council Convention Act:
           
On April,1982, just days before the Canadian Constitution is legally signed and made binding, the Tribal Council signs a Convention that will lead to the Tribal Council’s overall development as an organization including its financial and management capacities.
The major objectives of the Saskatoon District Tribal Council are:
 
  • To protect the First Nation and Treaty Rights
  • To promote the betterment of First Nations people through the Tribal Council
  • To support member bands of the Tribal council in developing their goals and objectives
  • To provide service to the bands through the various programs administered through the Tribal Council
  • To promote and undertake the transfer of programs to First Nation control
Saskatoon District Chiefs (1971)
 
Until 1971, Bands in Saskatchewan were largely grouped into agencies that reflected the geographical location and proximity to each other and the forts they were centered around. For example, in the Saskatoon area, we had Shellbrook, Carlton, Touchwood, File Hills and Duck Lake all in agency within a 250 mile radius of the city of Saskatoon.
 
In 1971 there were 13 Bands that became loosely known and organized as the Saskatoon District Chiefs. These bands knew as early as 1968 that Indian Affairs was going to downsize all Agencies because they themselves were in the process of being downsized. This process of decentralization then becomes an important first step toward the creation of a non profit corporate entity that would service the needs of those who would be leaving the reserves and migrating to the city centers. It would prove interesting to see what was happening to Aboriginal peoples already living in the urban centers and how this transition would affect them, if at all. It would also prove interesting to see how the migrants would cope with urban life. In late 1977, a survey of Band Members living Off-Reserve was conducted and it was hoped that the survey would accurately define the living circumstances of people living off-reserve in four major centers in Saskatchewan.
 
Thirteen Bands of the Saskatoon District Chiefs (1971):
 
 
*Beardys/Okemasis    *Big River
*Chitek *Kinistin (Chagoness)  
*Mistawasis     *Muskeg Lake       
*Muskoday (John Smith)  *One Arrow
*Pelican *Sandy Lake    
*Whitecap (Moosewoods) *Witchekan
*Yellow Quill (Nut Lake)  

The Evolution from Agency to District

 
As early as 1968, just before the introduction of the “69 White Paper” by the Trudeau Government, bands foresaw down sizing in their Agencies as Indian Affairs Canada was being downsized as well.  The creation of what was known as Agencies was taken away and Bands would now be forced into small districts instead. The decision to move into other districts was left to individual bands. This made some bands leery because although relationships among the Saulteaux, Cree and Dakota Sioux have always been good, linguistic wise, they knew they were different. This however, did not prevent the three linguistic groups from building an affiliation that is most evident to this day.
 

The uncertainty of Bands going in different directions reminds past Tribal Chief Joe Quewezance of how the three Saulteaux Bands broke away from each other and how the road in Yellow Quill got built,

There were three Saulteaux Bands that were together (Kinistin,”Chagoness”, Yellow Quill “Nut Lake” and Fishing Lake) but two broke away and decided to go with the Saskatoon District of Indian Affairs at the time.  Fishing Lake opted to stay with the Touchwood Agency while Kinistin and Yellow Quill joined with the Saskatoon District.

 
Fishing Lake remains with Touchwood until 2005 when it decides to become independent.
 
There was a big push for Yellow Quill and Kinistin to stay with the Saskatoon District by an acting chief. In 1968 the last Hereditary Chief in Yellow Quill passes on and the decision to stay or go is in the hands of the Acting Chief.  It is also around this time that past Tribal Chief Joe Quewezance’s uncle Frank Yellow Quill dies and people are kind of leery about going to another district.
 
The Tribal Chief then, remembers vividly how the 13 bands treated each other. At this time, Quewezance is a young man working as an interpreter at meetings and conferences for his uncle and some of the council and also for George Peeace who was District Rep in 1978.  He remembers how a lot of times there was a sharing of resources,
if you didn’t have enough capital to do all the things needed in a year, the sharing process allowed you to get what you needed done.  Each year the communities would share a bit of their capital so that one First Nations road could be built and each year the community would rotate and another community would get their road built and so on. That was a sharing…..a real sharing process.
 
Quewezance thinks this is what contributed to the affiliation of the chiefs and created a bond amongst them that allowed closeness and respect to be built,
Although there have been some mild disagreements over the years, nobody ever got really mad….enemies as a result.
 
Not long after, Shellbrook opted to go their own way to retain their own agency movement.  Five other bands decide to follow suit and they create their own district; Sandy Lake (Atahkakoop), Chitek, Witchekan, Pelican and Big River.
 
Many people think it was a cause in the leadership that made them leave, but it wasn’t. Senator George Peeace remembers that there were a lot of old leaders in that area,
Every time there was a meeting of the District, it was always conducted in English and far from home. The old leaders just weren’t comfortable, so they decided to go back to their own group, it was more of them feeling comfortable with their own kind.