Athabasca Band Members In P.A. Get Christmas Meals

Athabasca Band Members In P.A. Get Christmas Meals

Monday, December 21, 2009 at 13:37

Urban members of the three Athabasca Basin bands will be able to enjoy a Christmas feast in their own homes this year, thanks to an investment by their First Nations.

Black Lake chief Donald Sayazie says there were a lot of happy people at the Bernice Sayese Centre in Prince Albert on Friday afternoon, picking up the boxes of food the First Nation had purchased for members living in the city.

Sayazie says that too often, members living in urban centres don’t get as much support as those living on-reserve, so this is a way for the band to show they care.

The Prince Albert Grand Council helped initiate the urban Christmas hamper program last December, and this year, they went a step further by arranging for the three bands to each purchase 100 Good Food Boxes — filled with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables — from P.A.’s non-profit Smart Families Food Co-operative.

PAGC vice-chief Don Deranger, who represents the Athabasca bands, says the Good Food Boxes may open some people’s eyes to eating alternatives.

“When they come down here (to Prince Albert), they’re used to their traditional foods, and they don’t have those traditional foods down here in the city, so what you want to do is you want to introduce them to better nutritious foods that are available, and that’s what we’re doing, is introducing it to them so that they can utilize that food,” Deranger says.

He says he hopes the donations help band members living far from home enjoy a merrier Christmas this year.