Saskatchewan offers look at design of Treaty boundary signs

Saskatchewan has unveiled the design of highway signs that will be erected to mark Treaty boundaries — the first signs of their kind in Canada.

Signs at the boundary between Treaty 4 and Treaty 6 territories will be put up along Highway 11 in the Bladworth/Davidson area.

“We are proud to be the first province in Canada to officially mark treaty boundaries along major highways, working in partnership with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner to recognize the treaties,” Don McMorris, the province’s minister responsible for First Nations, Metis and Northern Affairs, said in a release.

“The boundary signage is an additional resource to support Treaty education and reconciliation in our province.”

The program was announced in November. The designs depict the Treaty medals that were given to Indigenous leaders after Treaty negotiations and include the wording of the original Treaties that indicate they will remain valid “as long as the sun shines, grass grows and rivers flow.”

The signs also feature a welcome in the respective Indigenous languages of each Treaty area.

“A sign seems like such a small thing, but it represents something significant,” Treaty Commissioner Mary Culbertson said in the release. “Think about the number of Treaties that cross through where the province of Saskatchewan now lies. Our highways cross these territories and that has to be recognized and acknowledged.

“It is so important to see this project underway. We are starting with one sign, but hope to see this for all our Treaty boundaries.”

A ceremony is to be held later this year when the signs are installed.