Saskatoon

Saskatoon had few vacancies because of conventions and other events in town, but after a dozen failed attempts to find a room, I found a hotel that actually gave me the choice: Smoking or Non... Wow! I took full advantage of the rest and relaxation that all the amenities of my room afforded me. a Good night sleep behind me, I need to push on. The breakfast special was eggs Benedict with hash browns and coffee. Not bad considering they clearly used a Hollandaise mix. I would like to hit at least one attraction in Saskatoon before moving on. Pull out the touristy map that hotel #2 gave me... attractions section... hmmm #13 looks interesting: Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Center. I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but I found more than I imagined. The sign on the door was adorned with the First Tribes logo (which I've seen scattered all over Canada), but also Office of the Treaty Commissioner. Hmmm, not what I expected, looks more like an office building, but I came this far. Upon entering I am kind of relieved that no one is at the front desk; I'm not sure I knew what to ask anyways, maybe I'll just make a quick exit. "keep walking towards the back" says the voice coming from the first office. It happened to be the voice and the office of the Honorable Bill McKnight. I awkwardly proceeded into the office pretty much drawing a blank. "How can I help you?". I introduced myself, and gave a brief description of my general itinerary so far, and told him that I was hoping to learn something about the Native American Indians in Canada... "Well, let's see..." he first took me to an older map of Canada, and started giving me the crash course. I could tell right off that he was a treasure trove of information; I mean we barely scratched the surface, but at the same time, I learned so much in a few minutes. I felt a bit uncomfortable just barging into his office and monopolizing his time, so I asked if there were a few directions he could point me in for follow up research. "I have a few things I can give you" he said. Essentially this office is one of a kind in Canada, they orchestrate many things, but education is a priority. They have kits that they put together to send to schools that are willing to put Tribal Indian History into their curriculum. The majority of the information he so graciously gave me had to do with the history of the treaties and battle to negotiate the land entitlement that Canada had promised years before. I admit that I was overwhelmed. I got a lot more than I bargained for, and felt very fortunate to have picked #13, and walked into the office building.
As I pushed on Westward yet again, I felt how little I have been able to dig into the nooks and crannies of any of the towns and cities I have driven by and through so far in my journey. In a way, I wish I could spend more time in most of them, but I have a lot of ground to cover, and could spend a lifetime at it.
I have found that in general, when you go searching for something specific, you are often disappointed... whereas a lot of time just having an open mind and a general sense of direction yield unimaginable treasures. Instead of trying to pry up a bunch of large stones to see what was hidden under them, I picked up a pebble, and found an entire world. I'd like to thank the OTC and Mr. McKnight for shedding some light on some of the history of the Canadian tribal culture. If you are interested in doing some research of your own, www.otc.ca is a good place to start. FASCINATING stuff. I barely made it 5 miles down the road, when I popped in the DVD "From Dream to Reality" that I was given. I listened to a multi-faceted account of the struggle and all the work it took for the few brave enough to spearhead the challenge of negotiating the land entitlement treaty.
To the former, current and future OTC pioneers, Bill, Rhonda, all the tribal chiefs that are willing to protect their culture, and pass it on... I can only say thank you... This is a good story, and it should continue to be passed on. Maybe it's more fitting to let one of my favorite poets of all time express how I feel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sldgunY3Fw
Keep up the good fight, and good luck in all your ventures