SASKATOON, Sask. — The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations has called on the company that owns a billboard near Radisson to immediately remove an advertisement it says attacks the Treaty and inherent rights of First Nations across the province
The billboard reads: "NO climate emergency … CO2 … 0.04% … Necessary for plants! '1st' Nation immigration without assimilation and jobs … Failure! Foreign hunters good for local economies!" and is signed Concerned Citizens of Saskatchewan.
FSIN condemned the billboard, saying it is not harmless political commentary, and asked Saskatchewan people to reject attempts to divide communities and instead stand together in respect for the Treaties, First Nations and their shared future.
FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said the message was particularly troubling given the history of First Nations people facing restrictions, charges and discrimination for exercising their hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering rights.
“Our people have hunted, fished, trapped and gathered on these lands since long before Saskatchewan or Canada existed. These are not privileges handed to First Nations by government. They are inherent practices and Treaty rights protected by our ancestors,” Cameron said.
The FSIN expressed disappointment that a commercial billboard company agreed to display the message, urging advertising companies to consider the potential impact of their content on relations between First Nations and non-First Nations people and instead promote respect for the Treaties and the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
SaskToday will update this story as additional comment becomes available.
