Indigenous peoples of Saskatchewan

The Indigenous peoples of Saskatchewan are the inhabitants of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan whose descendants lived in the region before the arrival of European settlers. The Canadian government considers Indigenous peoples to be members of First Nations bands, Métis, and Inuit. Métis are mixed-race descendants of First Nations people and Europeans, while the Inuit are Indigenous residents of the northernmost regions of North America. As of the 2021 Canadian Census, the Indigenous population of Saskatchewan was 187,890, about 17 percent of the province's total population. The largest group of First Nations people in both Canada and Saskatchewan were the Cree. Some of the other prominent First Nations bands in Saskatchewan include the Assiniboine, Saulteaux, Dene, and Dakota Sioux.

Demographics

Saskatchewan is a province covering about 250,000 square miles on the plains of the Canadian midwest. It borders Manitoba on the east, Alberta on the west, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the United States to the south. The province was carved out of the Northwest Territories in 1905 and named from the English pronunciation of the Cree word kisiskâciwanisîpiy, meaning "swift-flowing river." While the northern section of Saskatchewan is a region of forests and lakes, most of the province consists of rolling farmlands where wheat is the predominant crop. Saskatchewan's highest point is a 4,816-foot elevation in the Cypress Hills near the border of Alberta. Northern areas of the province have a colder climate with January high temperatures averaging below zero in some spots. Southern Saskatchewan has a more moderate climate. Temperatures in the provincial capital of Regina range from an average high of 79 degrees Fahrenheit in July to an average low of -4 degrees Fahrenheit in January.

According to the 2021 Census, Saskatchewan had a population of 1,132,505. The population centers are located in the southern third of the province. Saskatchewan's largest city, Saskatoon, had a 2021 population of 266,141, while Regina was home to 226,404. Prince Albert was the next-largest city at 37,756. Of the 187,890 people in Saskatchewan identifying as Indigenous in the 2021 census profile, 121,170 claimed First Nations status, 62,800 were Métis, 460 were Inuit, and the remainder reported being Indigenous identity. About 40 percent of the Indigenous people in Saskatchewan resided in Saskatoon, Regina, or Prince Albert.

Background

The first humans are believed to have migrated across a land bridge in the Bering Strait to North America sometime between 13,000 to 15,500 years ago. Arrowheads, spear points, and other artifacts suggest humans were hunting bison in the region of Saskatchewan soon after the end of the last Ice Age about 10,000 BCE. More definitive proof of organized human settlements in the region dates back to about 6000 to 3000 BCE. As the bands of hunter-gatherers came in contact with each other, many joined together in the common search for food, forming the beginnings of a tribal culture.

The native peoples of the Saskatchewan region were divided by language and split into three groups. The Athapaskan-speaking peoples, such as the Dene, lived primarily in the north and relied on caribou and moose for their survival. Algonquian and Siouan speakers hunted buffalo on the southern plains of Saskatchewan. Despite their language differences, many First Nations groups shared similar social structures, cultures, and spiritual beliefs. Central to their religious identity was the concept that humans were part of a larger creation guided by a Great Spirit, a powerful force of nature whose presence could be seen in the land, animals, and forests. Among the Cree and Saulteaux, this spirit was called Kitchi Manitou; the Assiniboine and Dakota referred to him as Wakan Tanka. Traditional Indigenous religion was animistic, or based on the belief that spirits inhabited animals and objects in the natural world. The people communicated with these spirits through a human intermediary known as a shaman. The shaman was a person held in high standing in the community and was believed to be able to cure illness, cast spells, and bring good luck.

These Indigenous people maintained their traditional ways of life for centuries until European fur traders first arrived in the region about 1690. At the time of first contact, the Saskatchewan region was populated by First Nations groups such as the Dene, Assiniboine, Gros Ventres, Shoshone, and Kootenay. Driven by the demand for beaver-pelt hats in Europe, the fur trade soon became a thriving business in the area. Many First Nations people used their skill in hunting and trapping to exchange animal skins for high-quality goods such as kettles, blankets, knives, ammunition, and guns. Instead of a reliance on a traditional way of life based on seasonal cycles, the native economic focus shifted to fur trapping and trade. The Assiniboine became guides and translators, acting as mediators for the fur traders and the Cree. The spread of Western firearms also gave some groups a distinct advantage over others, allowing them to expand their influence by driving their traditional enemies from the region. By the mid-eighteenth century, the Cree had established permanent settlements on the plains while the Gros Ventres, Shoshone, and Kootenay had been forced south and west into the United States and western Canada.

The influx of the fur traders also brought European diseases that took a heavy toll on the native peoples. A series of smallpox epidemics beginning in 1781 killed a majority of the Indigenous population and effectively ended the fur trade in the region. With their livelihood gone and the buffalo herds of the plains dwindling, many First Nations people struggled to survive. White settlers and missionaries began to pour into the region by the late nineteenth century, increasing Saskatchewan's population from 19,114 in 1881 to 492,432 in 1911. To accommodate the new arrivals, the Canadian government entered into several land treaties with the native peoples, who—having been weakened politically by disease and starvation—were often forced to accept the government's terms.

In 1885, dissatisfaction with the land claims and their treatment by the government prompted a group of Métis and First Nations leaders in Saskatchewan to rebel. To help in their cause, a group of Métis recruited Louis Riel, a controversial Métis leader who had organized an 1870 rebellion that was instrumental in creating the province of Manitoba. Riel followed a strategy similar to his efforts in Manitoba and established a provisional government with himself as president. The Canadian government responded by sending in troops to crush the rebellion. Riel surrendered and was executed while several Cree leaders were imprisoned. In the aftermath of the uprising, the government retaliated by forcing the native people onto reserves and attempting to outlaw native culture.

After decades of being pushed off of their lands, several First Nations groups formed political organizations in the twentieth century to fight for their rights. In 1930, both the province and federal governments acknowledged that thirty-three First Nations groups did not receive the lands promised to them under the treaties signed between 1871 and 1906. In 1992, the Canadian government and twenty-five First Nations bands signed the Saskatchewan Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement. The deal provided the First Nations with $440 million to settle land claims. Further agreements were also reached with the eight remaining groups.

Overview

As of 2022, the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada listed seventy-five First Nations bands in Saskatchewan. While these seventy-five bands incorporated many different First Nations identities, the government categorized the province's Indigenous population into five major linguistic groups: Cree, Assniboine, Saulteaux, Dene, and Dakota.

The Cree are the largest First Nation in Canada with an estimated 2021 registered population of 223,745. Cree comes from the French Kiristinon, an interpretation of an Ojibway word describing the native people near Hudson Bay. The Cree refer to themselves by the traditional name, Nêhiyawak. They reside across five Canadian provinces stretching from Alberta to Québec. Saskatchewan had the largest registered population of Cree in 2015 with an estimated 115,000. Cree is a branch of the Algonquian language and was the most widely used Indigenous language in Canada with 86,475 speakers as of 2021 and roughly 24,000 people in Saskatchewan.

The Cree of Saskatchewan reside from the northern forests to the southern plains of the province. Depending on the environment, they may call themselves Plains Cree, Woods Cree, or Swampy Cree. While they share a common religious and social bond, the various branches of Cree have some linguistic and cultural differences. For example, the Plains Cree of southern Saskatchewan are the only ones to conduct the Sun Dance, a religious ritual popular among the plains tribes of the United States.

The Assiniboine are a Siouan-speaking people also called the Nakota. Their name comes from the Ojibway word Asiniibwaan, meaning "Stone Sioux." Sioux is a blanket term used to describe a group of common-speaking people of the plains region. The tribes differentiate themselves by the dialects they speak, with Dakota more common in eastern regions, Nakota in the central region, and Lakota in the west. The Assiniboine dialect is an endangered language with only about 150 speakers remaining. While the Assiniboine are found in parts of the United States and Alberta, they primarily reside in Saskatchewan south and east of Regina. The Carry the Kettle reserve in Sintaluta is the largest Assiniboine reserve in Saskatchewan with a registered population of 2,921 in 2021.

The Saulteaux are closely related to the Ojibway, a tribe commonly known as the Chippewa in the United States. Saulteaux comes from the French saulteurs, or "People of the Rapids," a name given to them because they originated from the area around Sault Ste. Marie in modern-day Michigan. The people refer to themselves as the Nahkawininiwak. During the height of the fur trade, a group of Saulteaux traveled to Saskatchewan and formed a powerful trade alliance with the Cree and Assiniboine. The Saulteaux adapted to life on the plains and developed a culture distinct from their Ojibway descendants to the east. The modern Saulteaux reside in several reserves across the province; one of the largest communities is the Saulteaux First Nations reserve in Cochin with a 2024 registered population of 542.

The Dene are part of the Athapaskan language family, the largest Indigenous language group in North America. About 8,370 Dene speakers reside in Saskatchewan, more than 70 percent of the total in all of Canada. The Dene are spread across the northern reaches of the province. A group from the Lake Athabasca region in the northwest is known as the etthén heldélü Dene, or "caribou eaters," a reference to their traditional reliance on caribou for their food and clothing. These Dene share many traits with the hunting and fishing Inuit culture of the Arctic north. Another group of Dene is located in the Churchill River basin in the central lake region of the province.

The Dakota are a band of Sioux speakers primarily found in the upper plains of the United States. While the ancestors of the Dakota once resided in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, over the centuries they migrated south. During an armed conflict with the US government in the 1860s, several bands of Dakota fled north into Canada. The Canadian government allowed them to enter the country, but considered them American refugees and did not include them in the treaties signed with Canadian First Nations bands. The Dakota in Saskatchewan have three reserves, the largest of which is the Standing Buffalo reserve in Fort Qu'Appelle with a 2021 registered population of 586. The Wood Mountain reserve near the border with Montana was founded by followers of Lakota Chief Sitting Bull who escaped to Canada after the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

According to the 2021 census, approximately 62,800 people identified as Métis ancestry with other Indigenous or non-Indigenous ancestries. The Métis language, called Michif, is a combination of French and Cree. It was spoken by about 1,800 people in 2021. To promote their culture and support the community, the Métis nations of Saskatchewan created the Gabriel Dumont Institute. The organization was named after a Métis leader who supported Louis Riel during the 1885 uprising. While the Métis are recognized by the government as an Indigenous people, they were not granted the same rights as the First Nations and Inuit. In 2016, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the Métis and non-status Indians—First Nations people not registered with the government—will receive the same federal protections as other Indigenous peoples.

The 460 Inuit in Saskatchewan are part of a population of about 155,792 that stretches across the Arctic regions from Greenland to Siberia. To survive in the colder climates of the north, the Inuit rely on fishing and hunting for their livelihoods. The Inuit language is distinct from the other Indigenous languages of the province. Saskatchewan's Inuit speak a dialect known as West Inuktitut, a member of the Eskimo-Aleut language family also spoken by the Inuit of Canada's Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

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