Gordon First Nation
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The George Gordon First Nation ( cr, ᐳᓵᑲᓇᒌᕽ ''posâkanacîhk'') is a
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
band government located near the village of
Punnichy Punnichy ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Mount Hope No. 279 and Census Division No. 10. It is approximately northeast of the City of Regina. This village is part o ...
,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
, in Canada. The nation has an enrolled population of 3,752 people, 1,191 of whom live on the band's reserves. Chief Byron Bitternose leads the First Nation. Their territory is located on the
Gordon 86 Gordon 86 is a Cree reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada located northwest of Fort Qu'Appelle. Also known as the George Gordon Reserve,
reserve, as arranged by
Treaty 4 Treaty 4 is a treaty established between Queen Victoria and the Cree and Saulteaux First Nation band governments. The area covered by Treaty 4 represents most of current day southern Saskatchewan, plus small portions of what are today western M ...
.


History

In 1874, Treaty 4, which brokered the sale of indigenous land to the British Crown, was established between
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
and the Cree and
Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, A ...
First Nations. On September 15 of the same year, ''Kaneonuskatew'' (or, in his English name of George Gordon) was among the first of the indigenous leaders to make the agreement, signing as Chief of the George Gordon First Nation."George Gordon First Nation"
''The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan''
By 1884, half of the families belonging to the nation were farming, a development which had commenced in 1876, and would continue for many years. Although both George Gordon and his son, Moses Gordon, were originally hereditary chiefs, the people have since adopted the practice of democratically voting their chiefs and councillors into office.
.
The George Gordon First Nation was the location of
Gordon Indian Residential School Gordon's Indian Residential School was a boarding school for George Gordon First Nation students in Punnichy, Saskatchewan, and was the last federally-funded residential school in Canada.Miller, J.R. 2012 October 10.Residential Schools in Canada ...
, the longest-running residential school in Canada. The Anglican Church of Canada established a day school on Gordon’s Reserve in 1876. It was expanded in 1888 to provide housing to students attending the school. In 1929 the school was destroyed by fire and eventually rebuilt. Problems with water supply and maintenance led to its being closed for much of the time between 1947 and 1953. The school was closed in 1996. Children attending Gordon Indian Residential School were reported to have suffered various forms of abuse, inflicting severe damage to the Gordon community. The schools have been proven to have facilitated the abuse of children under their care. The federal government knew of these abuses, and has since apologized and paid compensation to the victims. The extent of the damage done to these communities is still yet known. The residential school system is widely regarded as cultural genocide, due to the action of destroying Indigenous culture, language, and religion, as well as the intent to do so. On the reserve, the Gordon Recovery and Wellness Centre provides services and support to the victims of the abuse that occurred during the Residential School System.


Reserves

Their reserves include: *
George Gordon First Nation 86 George Gordon First Nation 86 is an uninhabited Indian reserve of the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories ...
*
Gordon 86 Gordon 86 is a Cree reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada located northwest of Fort Qu'Appelle. Also known as the George Gordon Reserve,
*
Last Mountain Lake 80A Last Mountain Lake 80A is a shared Indian reserve in Saskatchewan, used by the Day Star, George Gordon, Kawacatoose, Muscowpetung, Muskowekwan, Pasqua, and Piapot First Nations. It is in Township 21, Range 21, west of the Second Meridian. ...
*
Treaty Four Reserve Grounds 77 The Treaty Four Reserve Grounds 77 are an Indian reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada, shared by 33 band governments from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The Reserve Grounds are located adjacent to and west of Fort Qu'Appelle. In the 2016 Canadian Census, t ...
, shared with 32 other bands.


Programs and services

The George Gordon First Nation boasts a modern medical clinic, an education centre, a computer centre, an arena and a day care, as well as the Gordon Retail Centre and the Buffalo Ranch Project. Programs that are offered to band members include the Residential School Recovery and Wellness Centre, Brighter Futures, and Gordon Social Development. Other community infrastructures include a band office, pre-fab plant, fire hall, teachers centre, gymnasium, warehouse,
water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, inc ...
plant, and machine shed.


Notable people

*
Lillian Dyck Lillian Eva Quan Dyck, (born August 24, 1945) is a retired Canadian senator from Saskatchewan. A member of the Cree Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan, and a first generation Chinese Canadian, she is the first female First Nations senator an ...
, Canadian senator from Saskatchewan *
Mary Longman Mary Longman (born 1964 in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian artist. She is of Saulteaux heritage from the Gordon First Nation. Her Aboriginal name is Aski-Piyesiwiskwew. She is known for her sculptures, drawings, and paintings, whic ...
, visual artist * Arielle Twist, poet *
Edward Poitras Edward Poitras (born in 1953) is a Métis artist based in Saskatchewan. His work, mixed-media sculptures and installations, explores the themes of history, treaties, colonialism, and life both in urban spaces and nature.First Nations in Saskatchewan First Nations in Saskatchewan constitute many Native Canadian band governments. First Nations ethnicities in the province include the Cree, Assiniboine, Saulteaux, Lakota, Dene and Dakota. Historically, the Atsina and Blackfoot could also be ...
.


Notes

{{First Nations in Saskatchewan