Tammy Cook-Searson was re-elected as chief in 2023. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Looking back and ahead

Year in Review: ‘Cows and plows,’ Summer Games highlights for LLRIB in 2024

Dec 26, 2023 | 9:00 AM

As 2023 draws to a close, larongeNOW is taking a look back on the most important and impactful stories of the year, as selected by our reporters and editorial staff.

It was quite a year for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) and Chief Tammy Cook-Searson expects another busy one in 2024.

One of the top issues on the minds of band members in 2023 was the ongoing negotiations between the LLRIB and the federal government on the Treaty 6 Agricultural Benefits Specific Claim, commonly known as cows and plows. The band is hopeful Canada will make a formal offer of settlement in spring 2024.

“Once a formal offer is made, then from there we have to go back to the membership,” Cook-Searson said. “We will have to go back to our communities, including where we have a high population of our members like Prince Albert and Saskatoon, where we have to talk to the membership and see what they want because, at the end of the day, it will be the membership that votes for the settlement offer.”

The LLRIB also accepted a last-minute offer to host the Tony Cote Summer Games in August 2024. The event is expected to draw 5,000 people into the tri-communities and include a variety of sports including athletics, archery, canoe/kayaking, beach volleyball, golf, soccer, and softball. Cook-Searson noted facilities will need to be upgraded such as the running track at Senator Myles Venne School.

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“I got a call saying Onion Lake is not taking on the Summer Games, would Lac La Ronge Indian Band be interested in hosting the Summer Games for this year,” she added. “I said I will have to call Kevin Roberts and, if Kevin is up for the challenge, of course we will do it because Kevin is an extraordinary organizer, and he can pull things together.”

The LLRIB also sees 2024 being a good year for Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership, the economic arm for the band. Its 2023 Annual Impact Report shows it had 1,300 full-time employees as of March 2023 under 11 different companies and two subsidiaries. They, on average, earned more than $70 million in annual revenue and made approximately $12 million in profits. Since 2021, the LLRIB has funneled $12 million in profits to community distributions.

“Our companies are doing well under Ron Hyggen who is the CEO, originally from Sucker River,” Cook-Searson said.

The band continues to work on comprehensive community plans, in which band members have stated the top priority they want leadership to work on is safety. Members are particularly concerned about violence, gangs and addictions.

A community safety committee has been created and there has been assistance by both the RCMP and provincial government. Cook-Searson explained there has also been progress at the Woodland Wellness Centre.

“After Christmas, we are hoping to have the full 24-bed in-patient treatment centre open,” she said. “We do have the out-patient for community members, and we also have a daycare there. If somebody needs mental health after hours, then they even do home visiting on request.”

The Woodland Wellness Centre hosted a cultural camp in September. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks with Chief Tammy Cook-Searson in La Ronge on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

The opening of the Elder Kate Hamilton Adult Education Center occurred in January 2023. (Facebook/Cook-Searson Tammy Jim)

A notable instance in 2023 for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band was a visit from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Standing at the former site of the Lac La Ronge All Saints Residential School, he told those in attendance that the day is an opportunity to recognize the sadness, anger and frustration that is the legacy of intergenerational trauma of residential schools. He said it’s a challenging day and a day for all Canadians to confront the country’s past.

“It was nice to have him here because we were able to address our own concerns directly to the prime minister,” Cook-Searson said.

Other highlights are a new fire truck for Little Red coming in 2024, as well as hopefully the opening of a water treatment plant, which is in the works. In 2023, Grandmother’s Bay celebrated the opening of the Sophie McLeod Memorial Community Youth Drop-In Centre and a new store is expected to be operational in the coming days.

In 2023, Hall Lake also celebrated the opening of the Uwasisuk Nekan (Children First) Cultural Site and the Elder Kate Hamilton Adult Education Center.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com