Funding partnership announced for Cree bilingual school in Saskatoon

After several years of celebrating cultural events on a screen, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools returned with their annual powwow Friday.

On top of the drummers and dancers celebrating together, there was a big announcement about a new school coming to Saskatoon.

The school division is partnering with the First Nations Bank of Canada to help create St. Frances Cree Bilingual School, which they aim to make home to the largest Indigenous language program in the nation.

Construction is expected to begin later this year, with an opening date slated for the fall of 2024. The new school will be located in the south end of the city on the corner of Seventh Street and Grosvenor Avenue.

Keith Martell, president and CEO of the First Nations Bank of Canada, said the bank is funding $100,000 of the new school project, and he’s excited to help develop the education system for the next generation.

“Our bank does work with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis across the country, and I think the biggest impediment to economic development is the lack of education,” Martell said. “This institution has done a wonderful job in getting kids engaged and keeping them in school.”

Martell said elementary students will benefit greatly from learning a new language at the school.

“You need to be prepared to take advantages of opportunities in your future, and that’s what education does,” Martell said. “But, more importantly, you need to be willing to understand and respect that you have an opportunity to engage, and that’s really what this school does.”

Martell attended St. Frances in his elementary school days, and said the new program will help provide a path for students that will give them a real sense of belonging.

“They belong here,” he said. “And when they belong here, they belong anywhere, and they’ll be doing great things.”