New Treaty Commissioner focuses on relationships, reconciliation
When the opportunity presented itself for Mary Culbertson to become the new Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, she viewed it as an “obligation”.
On Jan. 29, 2018, Culbertson began her three-year term with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner (OTC), becoming the first female Treaty Commissioner in Saskatchewan. She took over the position which was vacant for two years from former commissioner George Lafond, who served part-time.
“I thought, ‘Why not me instead of somebody else who might not come from a background where they know the reality?’” Culbertson said. “Of course, there was a lot of thinking that had to be done. I had to follow the ceremonial protocol.”
Culbertson, a member of Keeseekoose First Nation in the Treaty 4 Territory, received a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan – the first member of Keeseekoose to achieve a Juris Doctor of Law. She has worked with Battleford’s Sunchild Law in the areas of family, criminal and Indigenous law.
Culbertson has over 20 years of professional experience working in the federal, provincial and territorial governments and with Indigenous organizations. She has also been an active volunteer in many community organizations over the years and has engaged in advocacy work with Indigenous communities, families and grassroots organizations.
She felt that she could bring a unique perspective to the role of Treaty Commissioner.
“When we want to talk about Treaties and Reconciliation, there needs to be a lot of movement and hard work, but there are many barriers that are in the way. I feel that people have to get away from this romanticized version of things and get down to the reality of things,” Culbertson said.
“I felt I could see past the romanticized wishes and theories and move things forward through action. There are so many different levels of reconciliation on the personal, community or territorial levels and it doesn’t matter if we had full Treaty implementation overnight or full resource revenue sharing; we would still have the consequential harm from the residential school legacy that was a consequence of broken Treaty promises.”
One focus of Culbertson’s term will be on relationship building.
“One of the things I really want to see is the OTC being more visible and part of the First Nations communities,” she said. “I have made presentations at some leadership meetings to tell them about the vision I have going forward and what I want to do in terms of community education on Treaties, obligations and rights. If we’re too busy out there trying to educate the general public, then we’re forgetting about our own communities as Indigenous people.”
Culbertson is also focused on the path toward reconciliation, which she said must be achieved through education and willingness.
She is encouraged by some of the groups that have come together in the province to work toward reconciliation, such as the Heart of Treaty 6 Reconciliation, a group of individuals, community-based organizations, governments, and businesses areas, Lloydminster, Frog Lake First Nation and Poundmaker Cree Nation. There are also urban groups like Reconciliation Regina and Reconciliation Saskatoon that are working in their communities and have a lot of work yet to be done.
“There are a lot of groups that are shining stars when it comes to the effort they put toward reconciliation,” Culbertson said. “However, we can’t forget about rural areas and First Nations communities. We need to build and strengthen partnerships in these places one step at a time.”
Culbertson is looking forward to National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, 2018. The event (formerly known as National Aboriginal Day) is a day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, the three groups recognized as Indigenous peoples under the Canadian Constitution.
“National Indigenous Peoples Day is held in recognition of the first people that were here,” she said. “We celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday on the May long weekend and we celebrate Canada Day, but if it were not for the first people and the generosity, spirit and intent of entering into relations with newcomers, there wouldn’t be these holidays to celebrate. The first peoples of colonized lands always need to be honoured and that recognition is very important. It’s not a national statutory holiday, but why can’t it be?”
Culbertson said the OTC will be busy during National Indigenous Peoples Day, as it has received requests from several communities to set up Treaty education booths. She said these booths present the OTC with an opportunity to share its vision and educational resources.
The big event the OTC is helping to organize is the third annual Rock Your Roots Walk for Reconciliation on June 21 in Saskatoon. The theme of this year’s walk is “Planting the Seed”.
“By walking together, we plant the seeds of reconciliation – honouring survivors and answering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action as we grow a more inclusive community,” Culbertson said. “If it were not for what the survivors have endured and fought for, we wouldn’t have had the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) doing such tremendous work in educating the public on the horrors that happened.”