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The closing ceremony of the BATC vaccination clinic at the Dekker Centre on Friday. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)
Dekker Centre clinic ran four months

Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs and partners come together for closing ceremony of COVID-19 vaccine clinic

Jul 30, 2021 | 3:33 PM

The Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC) officially wrapped up their four-month vaccination clinic at the Dekker Centre in North Battleford with a special closing ceremony on Friday.

The event included visiting drummers among the procession, followed by a barbecue lunch.

Executive director Neil Sasakamoose is pleased with the initiative’s success in North Battleford, as well as in Prince Albert and Saskatoon where clinics were also held.

“Four months and 11,000 vaccinations later [in North Battleford]. Our project collectively between the three cities is 54,000 in vaccines, or 54,000 people is a way you can look at it too,” he said. “We helped save lives. We’re excited, we’re moving forward now. We’re moving to a mobile [vaccine] unit now, starting August 3.”

(Twitter/Angela Brown)

Neil Sasakamoose is also the son of the legendary Fred Sasakamoose, one of the first Indigenous players in the NHL. Fred died at the age of 86 from symptoms of COVID-19 in November 2020, so the matter hits close to his heart.

“The toughest part when you lose people in 2020 is the funerals are very small. There are no wake services, and there is no visiting…,” Neil said. “In 2020, people became very isolated. So you sit there for months and months, and try to manage the grief. When grief hits, phone calls are okay but you want a human connection.”

Sasakamoose said his father had to suffer with symptoms of COVID by himself before his death. Then, the family had to grieve by themselves. It was very painful for everyone.

North Battleford Mayor David Gillan commended the BATC vaccine clinic initiative’s success in helping the community as a whole.

“This has been a fantastic partnership with the city,” he said. “We are very proud of BATC and what they were able to offer for both the urban Indigenous population, as well as the non Indigenous population…It also just demonstrates we really are an inclusive community here. This partnership is a great example of an inclusive community.”

The city provided the Dekker Centre venue which BATC rented for the clinic space. The local effort also provided some added revenue to the Dekker Centre. The BATC was able to lease the space with added funding support from Indigenous Services Canada.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada was also a partner in the effort.

Leslie Ann Smith, Community Health Navigator with BATC, second from right, is honoured with a star blanket and flowers for her work on the vaccination clinic initiative. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

BATC also partnered with the Saskatchewan Health Authority in providing the vaccination clinics.

Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie also commended the BATC for its efforts to offer support to the Battlefords community.

“It’s a roaring success what BATC did here with the partners…,” he said. “Word of mouth spread quickly that this was a valuable place to come and be comfortable getting your vaccinations. The staff here just did a tremendous job. I cannot commend them and thank them enough for the hard work they did to make this a success.”

The BATC also worked in partnership with the Prince Albert Grand Council and Saskatoon Tribal Council to offer the vaccine clinics in the region. Indigenous Services Canada was also involved in that initiative.

During Friday’s ceremony it was also mentioned that BATC launched its new home products this year as well — the care and cleaning product line, Nîkihk. The health products were first given as a gift to those coming to receive their vaccinations.

Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow

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