Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation is an Asinīskāwitiniwak (Rocky Cree) First Nation band government in northern Saskatchewan consisting of nine communities: Amisk Lake, Deschambeault Lake, Kinoosao, Pelican Narrows, Prince Albert, Sandy Bay, Southend and Sturgeon Landing and a newer Reserve west of Prince Albert called Kiskaciwan. The administrative centre of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation is Pelican Narrows. They are a Woodland Cree First Nation.

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation
Band No. 355
PeopleCree
TreatyAdhesion to Treaty 6 signed 1900
HeadquartersPrince Albert
ProvinceSaskatchewan
Land[1]
Reserve(s)
Land area375.764 km2
Population (2020)[2]
On reserve5987
On other land1004
Off reserve4200
Total population11,237 registered and rest are not
Government[3]
ChiefPeter A. Beatty
Tribal Council[4]
Prince Albert Grand Council
Website
peterballantyne.ca

Government

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation is governed by an Indian Act Chief and Council, elected for three year terms under the 2014 Election Code.

In 2003 and 2004, work in amending the Election Act was undertaken by staff and a Cree speaking lawyer. PBCN membership consultations were done through utilization of community committees and staff for many months. Membership at the time did a remarkable job in updating the 1994 Band Custom Election Act. However, the proposed 2004 Election Act did not pass the referendum process with 2 communities rejecting the new election act.

In August 2013, Chief and Council acquired funding from Indian Northern Affairs of Canada to begin the process again of amending the existing Election Act of 1994. Due to limited funding from the INAC, Chief and Council had suggested the work done in 2003 and 2004 be revisited and taken back to the membership for further consultations and amendments.

The work to amend the 1994 Election Act started in early September 2013. The first round of community meetings with the membership were completed on October 23, 2013. It was expected that the process would be fast-paced in order to meet the amendment deadline date. A tentative date to hold a band wide referendum was slated for January 30, or early February 2014.

The governance workers, Randy Clarke, Loretta Ballantyne, the band lawyer and other staff used input collected from technology such as surveys and the PBCN website as well as the community meetings to gather input from communities. After this process, the first draft of the 2014 Election Act was produced after it had been reviewed by the PBCN lawyer. The last round of consultations took place early December 2013 and it was passed in 2014 through a referendum. It was the membership of PBCN who decided on what amendments would be included in the election code, therefore, it was easily passed by the people.

There are 14 elected councilors, two each from Southend, Sandy Bay, and Deschambault Lake, five from Pelican Narrows, and one each from Amisk Lake (Denare Beach), Sturgeon Landing, and Prince Albert. The centralized Government of the First Nation is located in Prince Albert, Sk.[5]

The current elected chief is Peter A. Beatty. Beatty was previously an elected councillor from Deschambault Lake, Saskatchewan and had been for 10 consecutive 2 year terms. He was first elected in 2013, when he beat former Chief Harold Linklater in a 2-person election for chief of the 11,000 strong PBCN on April 17, 2013 winning by a convincing margin of over 400 votes. Former Chief Darrel McCallum declined to seek re-election after 3 consecutive terms. That same year, 11 of the 14 councillor seats were also won by new candidates and only 3 incumbents retained their seats.[5] In April 2018 incumbent Chief Beatty easily defeated several other candidates to retain his position for another 3-year term. Next election is April 2021.

Past leaders
  • 2013-2018: Peter A. Beatty
  • 2007-2013: Darrell McCallum
  • 2005-2007: Harold Linklater
  • 2001-2005: Ronald Michel
  • 1999-2001: Susan (Linklater)/ Custer
  • 1985-1999: Ronald Michel
  • 1979-1985: Joseph Custer
  • 1975-1979: Phillip Morin
  • 1973-1975: Albert Ratt
  • 1971-1973: Arthur Morin
  • 1969-1971: Simon Linklater
  • 1958-1969: Peter Linklater
  • 1956-1957: Simon Linklater
  • 1954-1956: Vacant
  • 1948-1954: Simon Linklater
  • 1939-1948: Solomon Merasty
  • 1930-1939: Joe Highway
  • 1922-1930: Cornelius Ballantyne (Bear)
  • 1911-1922: Peter Ballantyne

Reserves

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has reserved for itself several reserves:[6]

Notable people
  • Rick Harp, Co-founder and president of the INDIGENA Creative Group; former host/producer with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN); set up mediaINDIGENA.com (an interactive, multimedia magazine dedicated to Indigenous news, views and creative expression); served as Artistic Director for the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival.
  • Gary Merasty from Pelican Narrows, former MP
  • Dr. Bonita Beatty from Deschambault Lake
  • Judge Gerald M. Morin, First Cree-speaking indigenous person to be appointed as a judge to the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan
  • Cara Merasty from Pelican Narrows; first Cree speaking female lawyer from the PBCN

References
  1. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  2. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  3. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  4. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  5. "History of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
  6. "First Nation Detail - Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
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