The Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation has started a campaign to gather 200 to 500 donated life jackets for children aged two to 18 living in the remote community.
Colleen Whitedeer, a councillor for the First Nation, is spearheading the initiative.
She said most of the community, that sits about 60 kilometres south of the border of the Northwest Territories, travels by boat in the summer months since there isn’t a road connecting them to the rest of the province.
“Where we’re located, it’s an isolated community so there’s no all-season road,” she said. “There’s a road in the wintertime then once the ice is gone, the lake opens up, so a lot of people commute by boat.”
Whitedeer added the high cost of flying also causes more people to choose to travel by water.
The closest road from Fond Du Lac is in Stony Rapids, a small town about 70 kilometres southeast of the First Nation.
Whitedeer said she started the campaign to keep children in the community safe while travelling.
She said the success of a similar campaign done in a remote community in the Northwest Territories inspired her.
“I figured with the way Saskatchewan likes to give and help out one another, it might be an opportunity to help people,” she said. “Not everybody can afford a life jacket, so this is a way to ensure all kids are equipped when they go on to the lake or when they’re travelling.”
Whitedeer said the life jackets have to be in good condition to be donated.
While they’re primarily looking for children-sized life jackets, Whitedeer said they will also take some adult sizes for the children who fit those.
Drop-off locations to donate are Parkland Hall in Prince Albert and Athabasca Basin office in Saskatoon.
From there, Whitedeer said Rise Air has agreed to cover the costs to ship the jackets north.
(PHOTO: Aerial shot of the Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation. File photo.)