NIPAWIN — Reconciliation Nipawin is continuing their conversation with the Nipawin Town Council regarding treaty acknowledgement signs that they would like to place at the three entrances to the town and in the town square.
Phase one of their plan will be the creation of signs that they would like to place at the three entrances to the town and in the downtown area.
Denise Bloomquist, co-chair of Reconciliation Nipawin, presented to the city at their Dec. 14 council meeting about the design and placement of the signs on behalf of the organization.
“We do plan to fund this project ourselves and we do plan to do the work ourselves with consultation with the town.”
Their goals are to create ways that Nipawin can acknowledge the treaty land as part of their history and, “create points of interest along the river to show where gathering, trade and settlement happened for hundreds if not thousands of years’ pre-contact,” according to a report sent to the council.
The signage motion was initially discussed at the Community Development Standing Committee, which did approve signs on the three major highways into the town, said Chelsea Corrigan, director of parks and recreation during the meeting. Discussion also took place regarding a downtown sign but nothing was decided at that time and there are no details as to the designs or how that will work with the downtown revitalization plan that has just been completed.
Nipawin council did pass the motion 5-2 that the signs at the town entrances be placed with further discussion happening regarding those in the downtown area.
Reconciliation Nipawin did receive a grant from SaskCulture about the signs that has to be used before Dec. 31, 2020. Bloomquist said that now the signs have been approved, they would start printing as many as their funding will allow and have them ready for placement around Nipawin.
This is just phase one of Reconciliation Nipawin’s plans to bring out indigenous history in Nipawin. Other phases will include updating the Nipawin Museum’s Hydroelectric Station history with funding from SaskPower and developing an interactive tour of the relevant historical locations around the town, like Bushfield Flats and the Red River Trail.
The town will be developing a downtown revitalization committee with representatives from the council and community discussing different ways to improve liveability in the downtown area, said Barry Elliott, the town’s administrator. Bloomquist made the request during this recent meeting that Reconciliation Nipawin is invited to be a part of that committee.
