National Indigenous History Month kicked off early in Saskatchewan this week with the swearing in of Charlie Bear as the first chief of the Chacachas Treaty Nation along with four headmen, an event that sheds light on a little-known part of Saskatchewan history.
“Chacachas has been without a chief and council for 140 years,” said Bear, who has long worked for recognition of Chacachas rights. “There was always this lost reserve in our oral history that’s been passed down to us (and) has been reaffirmed by historical documents through the years.”
The year 1874 was a defining point in Chacachas history. It was the year Chief Chacachas and another nearby chief named Kakisheway signed Treaty 4 in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., with the promise of benefits, designated reserve lands, farming equipment and tools, as well as provisions.
At that time, however, a surveyor amalgamated the Chacachas and Kakisiwew communities into one reserve, now known as Ochapowace Nation and located 175 kilometres east of Regina. Chief Bear said that amalgamation was done without the consent of Chief Chacachas and Chief Kakisiwew.
For years, descendants of the Chacachas Treaty Nation have fought to reconstitute the community.
Robby Bear, one of the new Chacachas headmen, said it’s going to be lengthy process.
“We are going into mediation,” Bear said. “We’re talking about the land base. We’re talking about the valuation of the land as well as the value of producing those lands and finding out what’s the fair separation that needs to take place.”
There are roughly 2,000 band members registered with the Ochapowace Nation. According to Chief Bear, 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the Ochapowace Nation’s registrants are identified as being originally from Chacachas Treaty Nation.
The Chacachas Treaty Nation chief and headmen are now in mediation with the Canadian government. They are being helped by Phil Fontaine, a former chief of the Assembly of First Nations who now heads the consulting firm, Ishkonigan Fontaine Strategic Solutions.
“He’s going to help to steer us through some of the mediation issues,” Bear said. “Our task at hand right now is to (hold) Canada accountable for the wrongs that were done to us… That’s our goal right now and we’ll be working on that.”
In a May 17 release, Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada announced a step toward a renewed relationship with the Chacachas Treaty Nation with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.
“This collaborative work will be based on the Federal Court’s 2020 decision in Watson-Bear, where they found that the Crown unlawfully combined the historic Chacachas Band with Ochapowace First Nation in 1884,” the release read. “The Court found that Chacachas is entitled to assert ongoing Treaty rights under Treaty 4 as a distinct Treaty First Nation with constitutionally protected rights.”
The Chacachas swearing-in ceremony, which took place Wednesday, was attended by dignitaries including leadership from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, chiefs from the Piapot First Nation and Ochapowace Nation as well as community members.
“It was a day I’ll never forget,” Chief Bear said. “It was an honour… to carry on this fight. This fight isn’t done. Part of our first chapter is done but we still (have) lots of work to do.”