“For Peat’s Sake” is a community-led, grassroots organization committed to the protection of the muskeg lands in northern Saskatchewan.
The event will feature keynote speakers, medicine walks, cultural teachings and art sessions. Maggie King, a volunteer working with the event, said aims to get local women interested in what’s happening to the land.
“So, the women’s land protection is really to get local women in the area interested in what’s happening to the land in and around our beautiful northern Saskatchewan country,” she said.
“There’s a company from Quebec called Lambert Peat Inc., and they’re looking at four different areas to mine the peat.”
She explained that peat moss is very important to the environment and must be protected for future generations. “There are other beings that rely on the muskegs for food, shelter, and living space, and there is a particular function for the peat lands and the muskegs; they provide us with different medicines and berries. Our people have gathered medicines from the muskegs for many generations, thousands of years, millennia, so we have to protect them for future generations,” said King.
The event will take place at Bigstone Lake at the Lac La Ronge Indian Band’s Youth Haven camp and will have space for up to 40 people to participate. The camp will have four bunkhouses that hold ten people each, a kitchen, and a meeting room. King said that the sign-up deadline to participate in the event is set for June 15.
Those interested in attending the event can register on the group’s Facebook page.