YORKTON — Saskatchewan’s Office of the Treaty Commissioner (OTC) brought its treaty conference to Yorkton on Oct. 20 and 21, attracting people from across the province.
Treaty Learning Journey 2: Living Our Treaties Conference was held Oct. 20 and 21 at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre at St. Mary’s Parish. Commissioner Dr. Kathy Walker said the gathering was a partnership with the Yorkton Tribal Council to bring the event to a region where the OTC had never held the gathering.
“Yorkton also has many strong treaty nations, and we wanted to also acknowledge that two of those nations commemorated their 150th treaty signings,” said Walter, referring to the Keeseekoose and Key First Nations.
“There was just so many compelling reasons to partner with Yorkton and to have it in that region,” she added later.
Attendance was excellent, she said, especially on the first day, with at least 130 people present. Leaders, educators and people from all different sectors were present.
“We also had a lot of people coming from other regions of the province to come to Yorkton,” she said.
A series of speakers addressed the crowd over the two days. Walker spoke on the theme of Living the Spirt and Intent of Treaty, and then there was a panel led by Walker that gave four other speakers – Sid Fiddler, Georgina Musqua, Rosalie Tsannie and Willie Ermine – the chance to speak. Small groups also focused on the theme.
Elaine Sutherland from the OTC spoke on the Foundation of Treaty and The Importance of Teaching the Spirit and Intent of Treaty.
Small groups came together to talk about Strengthening Good Relations – Living our Intentions, and Treaty Land Sharing Networks founder Morley Maier also spoke.
Another session discussed the Importance of Teaching the Spirit and Intent of Treaty, and a small talking circle was on Hearing Your Voices.
Walker hopes the theme resonates with the people who participated.
“Treaties are a relationship. A living relationship that requires each of us to breathe life, to embody and to implement in our lives and in our work,” she said.
The OTC tried to make the event as interactive as possible, she said. A panel of elders shared their experiences, and there was an open forum after they spoke in which everyone was encouraged to ask questions. The OTC supplied questions for small group sessions when people could converse.
“We really tried to make it a dialogue for people,” said Walker.
Since the conference wrapped up, Walker said there has been an opportunity for people to continue to ask questions.
“One of our main pillars is helping to create common understanding of the treaties. We have a treaty education and awareness stream that does a number of workshops, and we have a speaker’s bureau. We have a number of publications. We have treaty kits that educators and schools and really any member of the public can access. We encourage anyone who wants to learn more about treaty to contact our office.”
The office is also going to prepare a final report on the conference, so if people want to learn more about what was discussed at the conference, they can access the report on the OTC’s website or through an electronic newsletter.
The report is expected to be ready in early November.
The Treaty Learning Journey as an annual gathering is relatively new, she said. The first two editions of the event were held in Saskatoon. A site has not been determined for next year’s event.
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