The Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan attended the installation of the new boundary signs marking Treaty 4 and Treaty 6 along Highway 11.  These signs are part of the ongoing work by Office of the Treaty Commissioner to increase awareness and knowledge of Treaties and the Treaty relationship in Saskatchewan.

"A sign seems like a small action, but it represents something significant. It is common sense to acknowledge the Treaty boundaries, these Treaties were here before the province was created and before roads were here,” said Treaty Commissioner Mary Culbertson.

The location of the signs, near Bladworth, was selected by Culbertson based on oral history descriptions contained within the OTC archives, Treaty text, local practicalities, information from ISC Canada and Saskatchewan Registry, and Geographic Information System for Treaty areas of Canada.

People travelling the highway towards Saskatoon will see the Treaty 6 sign, and those driving towards Regina will see the Treaty 4 sign. Each sign has an image of the Treaty medal, wording from the Treaties, and a welcome in the Indigenous languages of the respective Treaty areas. Ensuring the inclusion of Indigenous language was an important part of the sign, as Indigenous languages were here long before the two official languages of Canada.

The Government of Saskatchewan funded these signs as well as coordinated their production and installation.

"It is so important to see this project underway, we are starting with one sign, but hope to see this for all our Treaty boundaries,” Culbertson said. “There are Treaties 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10. We will work with our knowledge keepers and the Elders Advisory Council to ensure that other Treaty boundaries that cross provincial highways will be marked with signs in the coming years.”