A statue of Chief Whitecap and John Lake in downtown Saskatoon. Photo courtesy whitecapdakota.com.
Saskatoon Public School announced the names of the new schools being built in the city and among them was a First Nations Chief.
The new school in the Stonebridge neighbourhood will be named Chief Whitecap after the founder of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation.
Chief Whitecap was officially recognized as a founding father of the City of Saskatoon in 2007 along with John Lake.
Current Whitecap Chief Darcy Bear provided his thoughts on the name of the new school.
“I think it is fitting,” he said. “You already have John Lake School in Saskatoon and now their is a Chief Whitecap School, so it honours both founding fathers of the city.”
Whitecap students are attending three different schools in Saskatoon. The First Nation is providing $2.7 million dollars in capital for the new school.
“So it is a true partnership,” said Chief Bear. “I am very thankful to the board for what they did on Tuesday night and we are very honoured and our community members are proud.”
Chief Bear says the school helps continue the partnership between Saskatoon and Whitecap.
The school is scheduled to open in September 2017.