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WHITECAP DAKOTA FIRST NATION -- Standing on the first tee of the dramatic new golf course on the Whitecap Dakota First Nation, Chief Darcy Bear has every reason to be proud.
He is surrounded by the evidence of his band's accomplishments. Dakota Dunes is recognized as one of the best new courses anywhere in the country. It represents a major new tourist draw for the region, not to mention the fact that it provides employment for about 50 band members.
Right beside the golf course, the Saskatoon Tribal Council's new casino is taking shape, a major development that will rival Casino Regina in terms of size and elegance.
When the casino opens in October 2007, it will provide jobs for 550 people. Chief Bear is in negotiations right now for a hotel development which could result in another 100 jobs being created. Eventually, there could be as many as 800 jobs here on a reserve with only 240 residents.
There are plans for a new housing development and new commercial activity. At the same time, Whitecap is poised to become one of the first reserves in the country where band members will have the chance to own their own houses on land under long-term lease from the band.
On a number of fronts, Whitecap is positioning itself for long-term growth. The developments here will not only help band members, they will benefit Saskatoon as a whole.
It's an impressive success story, and it underlines the historic links between the city and the reserve located south of the city.
Next year will mark the 125th anniversary of the meeting between John Lake, the leader of the temperance colony that founded Saskatoon, and Chief Whitecap, the man for whom the present reserve is named.
Chief Whitecap showed Lake where the best spot along the river for a settlement would be, an area with relatively low banks and easy crossing.
But the really fascinating part of this story is how Chief Whitecap came to be here at all. His band was not indigenous to this area, but had migrated from Minnesota in the 1860s.
They fled the U.S. after the Dakota Conflict of 1862 between the Sioux tribes confined to reservations and American settlers and army.
Victimized by dishonest traders and Indian agents, a handful of disgruntled Dakota killed several settlers, an incident that led to a full-scale war. Hundreds were killed on both sides and at the conclusion of the fighting, 303 Dakota were sentenced by a military commission to hang. President Abraham Lincoln limited the executions to 38.
While the rest of the tribes were rounded up and shipped to reserves in South Dakota, several bands, including the one led by Chief Whitecap, escaped to what was then British territory.
For safe passage, they relied upon their historic connections to the British Crown. The Dakota had supported the British in the Pontiac War, the American Revolution and the War of 1812.
When they left the U.S. in the midst of the civil war, the Dakota carried with them only their history as British allies and a collection of medals and flags that had been presented to them as tokens of British appreciation for their past support.
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