As Sept. 15 marked the 152nd anniversary of the signing of Treaty 4, thousands of students travelled to Fort Qu’Appelle for the 40th edition of the Treaty 4 gathering. Taking place in the original spot of the signing, students learned not only about Indigenous history and culture, but also their roles as treaty people. “What I’m hoping to get out of this is that students come here, and they understand what this treaty relationship means, that we’re all treaty partners,” said Alana Starr, the supervisor of student achievement for the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council. According to organizers, around 2,000 students ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 12, travelled from across Treaty 4 territory to Fort Qu’Appelle for Tuesday’s festivities. Students had the chance to speak to elders Charlotte Creely and Sharon Strongarm, who remember sitting in the students’ shoes, listening to elders. “They used to tell us, ‘When I’m not here anymore and those stories that you hear, those teachings that you hear, it’s up to you to pass them on,’” Strongarm said. Not that long ago, knowledge of Indigenous language and culture was not allowed in Canada’s residential schools. Strongarm spent a few years attending Lebret Residential School, which once stood a short distance from Fort Qu’Appelle. In her early years, Strongarm didn’t know any of the English language. “When I got to residential school, I was scared because it was drilled into us that once you talk the [Cree] language, it’s not allowed, it’s forbidden, it’s a sin,” said Strongarm, who was born on Star Blanket First Nation. Strongarm recalls spending time in the hospital with a rheumatic fever for three months but says that her time at the hospital helped gain her Cree identity back. Creely, 83, also spent a few years at All Saints Indian Residential School near Prince Albert. “The way they fed us, we’d have porridge every morning on a paper plate that was all full of porridge, hardly any sugar, hardly any milk,” she said. Both Strongarm’s and Creely’s experiences spurred many questions and conversations with the students. “Now, I think now people are beginning to know that we’re just as human as they are. We respect them, and they should respect us,” Creely said. Both elders were “amazed” at the amount of knowledge the youth have on the difficult history of Canada’s residential school system. “They’re just like knowledge keepers themselves when they’re taught something and they’re told something. They keep it up in their minds, it’s always there,” Strongarm said. For Grade 12 student Tristan Huber, it’s his fifth time attending the Treaty 4 gathering. A student at Bert Fox High School in Fort Qu’Appelle, Huber was one of many students volunteering at the gathering. “It’s so awesome how we can all come and connect at this beautiful event and venue,” he said. “To remember that, first off, every child matters [with] that coming up, and just being able to all come together as human beings.”
