Preparations are underway for a major treaty gathering on the Onion Lake Cree Nation.
The summit will run from June 3rd to June 7th.
Onion Lake Chief Wallace Fox says a number of chiefs and dignitaries are expected to attend, along with an official from the United Nations:
“He is going to be in attendance for the week to listen to the elders, to listen to the chiefs and the leadership on treaty and what it means, how sacred it is and that it’s a legal binding agreement that the ancestors signed.”
Fox adds the band will also hold a sod-turning ceremony for a Treaty 6 embassy it plans to build on the reserve:
“The long-term objective is to have an embassy that will have a voice and a seat at the United Nations in Geneva. There used to be an embassy back in the 1800’s and early 1900’s — a Treaty 6 embassy in North Battleford. We’re reviving that.”
Fox says his band is also entering into two new treaties.
The first involves three bands from Alberta, while the second involves the Shoshone Nation from Utah.