As nehiyawak, we have the Inherent right to determine our future for ourselves — and we must exercise that right daily.

We must also work to build a future that is prosperous for us all so that we can break the cycles that we all grew up with. We need a local economy that puts the training and success of our community members first and allows our people to thrive.

As Chief, building our Nation will be one of my priorities. As a community, we can work together to build a bright future. As a Council, we must demonstrate leadership by:

  1. Governance – The Yahkotowin Governance Committee established in 2016 to move our Nation forward must continue the critical work of moving our Nation toward self-government.

    Critical components of our Nation’s governance structure are still incomplete; and as our recent Nomination Meeting showed us, we need to make some important amendments to some of our existing laws.
    • Elder’s Council Act – The Elder’s Council Act (ECA) represents the unfinished business of our Nation’s constitution.  The ECA ensures the wisdom and experience of our Elders is respected and honoured – and incorporated into Council decisions to ensure the best outcome for our people; we must ensure that our Elders are consulted on important matters for the Nation.
    • Youth Council Act – The Youth Council Act (YCA) represents the unfinished business of our Nation’s constitution. The YCA gives voice to youth in the decision-making process, and ensures that youth concerns are always kept in the hearts and minds of decision makers.
    • Election Act – Our community needs to review our Election Act to ensure it changes with our community. We are a growing Nation and so too is the workload of our Council. Our community will decide on important amendments that will guide us into our future.
    • Business Administration Act – if we’re going to build a prosperous future, we need to ensure that businesses and investors have the confidence to invest locally, and the protections necessary to enable long-term success. We need to demonstrate to the business community that we’re serious about attracting their investments.
  2. Housing – There has been good work done in housing for our community. And we will continue that success. But we must ensure that the work that’s being completed is work that our community contributes to. We cannot just incur debt while outside companies profit off our success.

    And we must also remember that as we increase housing, we must ensure that funding for infrastructure and services matches the pace of growth and development. We haven’t seen the increases in funding to water hauling, to garbage or waste collection that keep pace with the increase in housing. We’ll need to address this.
  3. Economic Development – There are good projects underway that will ensure the Nation’s financial prosperity well into our future. The Opportunities Agreement we have with BHP and Jansen Mine will keep our Nation moving forward.

    But what about the success of families and individuals right here at home?

    Today, we see families separated for weeks at a time. These are good paying jobs and I’ll continue to support that. But none of the money that is made, stays in our community.

    Small businesses and tourism are the catalysts we need to revitalize our culture, language, art, and to build a local economy – so more money stays here at home.

    100% of all money for all food in our community is spent in other places. Duck Lake, Rosthern, Prince Albert, Warman, and Saskatoon all benefit off people. For groceries, a quick lunch, or for a nice meal at a restaurant, every dollar we have for food for our people is spent somewhere else. That needs to change.

    We need to reopen a restaurant in the arena that benefits the arena.

    We need to look at the feasibility of having our very own grocery store.

    We need to establish a construction company that draws the talent and experience we have.

    And we will create a world-class tourist destination that showcases the hospitality and resilience of our people.

Right now, we are making everyone else rich, except us.

We will attract businesses that keep more of our money right here in our community, so that our young people and families can learn skills and have jobs that enable their success and our collective prosperity.

Pride & Leadership