Chief Kenny Moccasin, third from right, shown with Saulteaux band council and project partners, along with Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie, second from right, and North Battleford Mayor David Gillan, right, during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Partnership project

Saulteaux First Nation celebrates opening of new expanded community hall

Mar 24, 2022 | 3:32 PM

Saulteaux First Nation came together Thursday to celebrate the opening of their new community hall.

The facility was built through a partnership among Saulteaux First Nation, Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc. (BATC) Employment and Training, and Saskatchewan Indian Training Assessment Group (SITAG).

The full project cost is close to $700,000, with Saulteaux investing $175,000 of that from its own source revenue, $420,000 coming from BATC, including labour and materials, and $76,000 from SITAG in labour.

Dignitaries and guests took part in a special ribbon-cutting ceremony at the hall, followed by a community luncheon to mark the occasion.

Chief Kenny Moccasin was thrilled to see the large project now finished for the First Nation.

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“I’m proud of the accomplishments that we have in our community,” he said. “It’s been a long two year [undertaking].”

The expanded hall also includes additional office space and meeting rooms to be used to bring more programs to the community. Adorning the hall is a large historical photograph dating from 1954 when Saulteaux First Nation signed Treaty 6 and first became a band.

The full size of the hall is now 7,551 square feet, incorporating the existing hall space at 3,275 square feet and the addition of another 4,276 square feet for the new space.

“The end result is we have a nice big community hall that we can house huge community events in,” Moccasin said.

Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie and North Battleford Mayor David Gillan also attended the grand opening.

“I am proud of Chief Kenny and his council what they continue to do for this community,” Leslie said. “This community hall will be a legacy well into the future…. I look forward to attending more events here in Saulteaux in this building.”

Chief Kenny Moccasin, centre, receives a cheque for $420,000 from BATC for the community hall project. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

BATC personal development coach manager Karla Houle said she is glad to see Saulteaux’s facility now complete.

“It’s a great achievement for Saulteaux with BATC working in partnership and collaboration with them,” she said. “It’s been great [to see] everyone’s contribution to it, making it a successful project.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow