With food, songs and speeches, Little Pine First Nation brought together the community to celebrate the grand opening of the new band office last week.
The ceremony began before noon with songs and a dedication, featuring Treaty 6 and Little Pine flags, held respectively by Chief Wayne Semaganis and Councillor Richard Checkosis. There was also a ribbon-cutting outside. Women held photos of previous Little Pine elders.
Inside the band office’s hall, chief and council offered words, starting with Chief Semaganis. Gavin Baptiste MC’d the event, and Laurel Sapp took a number of photos.
Elders, band members, people from nearby First Nations, mayors of nearby towns and local RCMP were in attendance, as was an Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations representative.
Councillor Serinda Baptiste spoke of the amount of work required for the band office to be built, including numerous trips to Saskatoon.
Dignitaries in attendance were presented with blankets. Before handing out mugs stamped with Little Pine’s logo, Gavin Baptiste said, “some lucky people don’t even need to play bingo but they’re going to get gifts.”
Festivities were followed by contemporary and traditional food.
The previous band office burned down in 2009, and the First Nation had to be administered out of buildings belonging to the school until the new band office was built.
The event also served as an introduction of Little Pine Security to the public. Elder Jacob Pete said the local security force is one phase of self-administered policing carried out by community members. Later phases planned to be introduced include the First Nation’s own police force.
Semaganis, who is serving a third term as chief, said the new building followed the architectural plans of the previous band office, minus a health facility. He said the new building is something to be proud of, and that he hopes “people can see, no matter where you’re from, that we want to fit in.”
Semaganis talked about the importance of equality in community-to-community relations.
“We don't want anybody to look at us with pity or animosity, but to try and get an understanding that no matter where you’re from, when we signed treaty we agreed to a shared future, a shared reality, and the best way is to accept each other,” Semaganis said. “This building here is equal to any administration building anywhere, and it’s a representation of what all of us want. So let’s be friends.”
