SLA’S ONE BOOK, ONE PROVINCE PROGRAM 2020! 
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You can catch a video reading with Candace Savage by clicking here
Check out the Canada and Germany: Partners from Immigration to Innovation display at the Western Development Museum, Saskatoon. It will be available until July 26, 2020. Click here for more details about the display and the opening hours of the WDM.
Report: Land Based Connections & Belonging Workshop – Saskatchewan Beach, SK – March 5, 2020 – Community Consultant- Aileen Martin
Question of the day. Is it Last Mountain Lake, or Long Lake? Both are used synonymously but is one correct? The word “Kinookimaw” is Cree for “Long Lake” and legends have it as Last Mountain Lake.
When the Great Chief of the world completed the building of all the hills, he found he had a little material left over and he looked about to see where he should put it. He saw that the prairie lay smooth and level and for many days journey, unbroken by mountain, lake or stream.
“What fitter place than this to lay good soil?” he said, and in the midst of the prairie he built a mound with what dirt remained and, scooping a hollow with his hand, he made the water left over from the rivers a long lake. And he breathed on it so that the grass and trees grew, and the birds and buffalo came to rest in the shade.
All that was wanting was a name, so the Great Chief lifted up his voice and summoned all his braves and they came on wings like the eagle, greeting their chief with a shout like thunder booming among the hills. Then from their ranks steeped Cheewana, daughter of the great chieftain, beautiful as the summer morning, wise as a beaver and she bent at his feet.
And she said, “Because this mountain was the last of thy making and this lake is the last of thy filling, I offer you for the one the name of Last Mountain and for the other that of Last Mountain Lake.”[1]
Whatever name you call it, history is alive and well at the Lake. On March 5, 2020 around 20 people from the region gathered for a two part workshop connecting genealogy and the history and heritage of the region. What may have seemed like an odd pairing actually had intentional outcomes linking where we came from to where we are now and connecting our history and heritage to the land and the people who came before us.
The afternoon started with Dianne Romphf an expert volunteer with over 3o years of experience from the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (SGS). She went over the basics on why people get into genealogy, where to start, some resources to help you on your way and track your findings. Guests commented that one of the most important take always from the session was to track your sources and to be ready for conversations; the good, the bad and the ugly.
Guests shared stories of their DNA and genealogical searches and findings at dinner over Saskatchewan Beach’s traditional food… fish and chips!
Aaron Tootoosis, a speaker from the Office of the Treaty Commissioner shared a presentation on the history of treaty and the connection of treaty to the land. He shared stories of pow wows and celebrations with his family at Kinookimaw in the early 1980s. He also spoke about the “Iron Confederacy” and the people who lived in both Treaty Four and Treaty Six territories. One statement that resonated was that “Treaty was not about land, it was about relationship.”
Chief Todd Peigan from Pasqua First Nation shared history about the Qu’Appelle Valley, the lakes and people that inhabited the region. He spoke about some memories of Long Lake; winter netting, picking berries and walking the hills of both the north and south sides of the lake as they were all designated fishing sites.
The speakers spoke with such passion and wisdom. Something to remember is that we are all Treaty People, and that Treaty lasts… As Long as The Sun Shines, The Grass Grows and The River Flows.
[1] Published by William Pearson Publishing Company Ltd. Of Winnipeg in the approximate year of 1911. Excerpt from a pamphlet called “Last Mountain Lake Saskatchewan’s Summer Resort”
The 2019 Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Heritage Awards were presented on October 9 at Government House, Regina
Purpose
The Heritage Awards are presented annually, and provide an opportunity to recognize heritage projects that build resilient and sustainable communities for the future. In recognizing success stories, the Awards program celebrates, inspires, encourages and cata
lyzes the safeguarding of Saskatchewan’s rich and diverse Living Heritage for generations to come.
Congratulations to all the recipients. Click here.
Click on the logo to access the Heritage Saskatchewan Website.
