Duck singeing and drying meat at a culture camp near Grandmother's Bay

Tegan completes internship with the Lac La Ronge Indian Band’s Lands and Resources Office in La Ronge, Saskacthewan

As part of her thesis research on good-practices of engagement with Indigenous communities, Tegan spent four spring and summer months this year situated on the southwestern shores of Lac La Ronge, Saskatchewan. She was working in the Lands and Resources Office, a department of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB). The opportunity for the internship arose through a MITACS Accelerate grant, which aims to foster partnership among academia, community, and industry, as well as support skills-development for graduate students.

By Tegan Brock

During her time at the office, Tegan learned about how the Lac La Ronge Indian Band receives and handles notifications from government ministries regarding project proposals that lie within traditional territory, and that have the potential to impact Treaty rights and traditional lifestyles of band members. She was also exposed to the final stages of a four-year negotiation process that the band has been leading, that culminated in the signing of a Collaboration Agreement with one of the major companies that operates in the territory.

Tegan was privileged to attend numerous Culture Camps throughout her stay, where she learned about how animals are processed and cooked into delicious traditional meals. She ate plenty of fried fish, discerned the different ways in which communities cook their bannock (she prefers the baked kind), and was constantly humbled by the generosity of each community and their members. 

Cutting moose meet at La Ronge Treaty Day

Tegan also interviewed members of the LLRIB Lands and Resources Management Board, government staff, as well as industry staff for her thesis research. Near the end of her internship, she hosted a workshop in Stanley Mission that discussed what the duty to consult and accommodate is, and how it relates to LLRIB members. Despite having moved south for the fall, she hopes to host another one in La Ronge soon.

Acknowledgements

Tegan would like to acknowledge and thank the LLRIB and members of the Lands and Resources Management Board for welcoming her into their territory, inviting her into their meeting rooms, and providing countless opportunities for her to learn and grow. Tiniki!