On a hot August 2019 afternoon, Cheryl Foggo stood where her great-grandfather lived more than a hundred years ago. She felt comforted by the beauty of the vast prairie landscape in the Eldon district of Saskatchewan. “It was wonderful. It was a beautiful day.” She had come along with some 300 people for the unveiling […]
Dispatch from the Prairies: A Black journalist’s perspective on this moment
Braydon Page took a knee in front of the Saskatoon Police Service headquarters and raised his fist in the air. Almost instantly, 4,000 people behind him followed suit. They chanted in unison. “Black Lives Matter.” This is my city. I have lived here for 20 years. I’ve covered protests before, but I have never seen […]
‘La Loche will survive this virus’: Seeds of hope in Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 epicentre
Indigenous leaders and residents of La Loche and area say the community remains resilient as it grapples with being the epicentre of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. The vast majority of the province’s active cases are in and around the small, remote community, located about 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. “We survived the smallpox a while ago. […]
Calls for culturally-specific care amidst concerns over mental health issues in black communities
Issue marred by taboos in some cases; little research available on the topic Eight years after Fiyin Obayan suffered from a mental breakdown, she still remembers how terrifying it was. “It was like I was a different person. I just kind of lost sight of reality. It’s like I kind of go in and out […]
25 years after conviction, Robert Latimer still believes he was right to kill his daughter
Robert Latimer is adamant that he made the right decision. The Saskatchewan farmer was convicted 25 years ago of killing his 12-year-old daughter, Tracy, who had severe disabilities. Latimer wants that conviction overturned. Tracy Latimer had severe cerebral palsy and suffered chronic pain from repeated surgeries. She couldn’t walk, talk or feed herself. Robert maintains […]
A place in the circle: 2-spirit people seek visibility and supports
Brook Garner grew up feeling isolated. As one of the only First Nations children in his rural Saskatchewan community, he felt alone. “I was marked as different. I was bullied a whole bunch. It was not fun,” Garner, now 24, said. “Growing up in a mainly white community was just different because I didn’t look a […]