Kahkewistahaw Band

Treaty 4 monument, Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan.

David McLennan

Chief Kahkewistahaw, a prominent leader, signed Treaty 4 on September 15, 1874. His band was Rabbit Skin Cree and Saulteaux, and they hunted in the Wood Mountain and Cypress Hills regions. They returned to the Qu'Appelle Valley once a year to receive annuity payments until a reserve was surveyed for them in 1881. Although Drought, frost, and Hail damaged crops in the 1880s and 1890s, Wheat became their staple crop until January 1907, when 33,281 acres of their most fertile land were surrendered. The surrender forced most of the band's farmers to relocate and left only 11% of their arable land. On March 2, 1989, the Kahkewistahaw First Nation submitted a claim under the Specific Claims Policy, and on June 25, 2003, they signed a land claim agreement with the federal government addressing the injustice and providing funds to invest in economic development and job creation. Currently run programs include social development, justice, a Head Start Program, Indian Child and Family Services, and drug and alcohol treatment programs. Kahkewistahaw is located 13 km north of Broadview; 426 of the 1,482 registered band members live on their 8,365.1-ha reserve.

Christian Thompson