b.+Buffalo+Narrows,+Saskatchewan



Buffalo Narrows was an ancient hunting site that provided a bottleneck into which the Cree and Dene people would drive herds of Buffalo into the narrows. Buffalo Narrows has been the center of activity for many centuries before it became a settlement. Over the past years many artifacts have been found that validate this belief. Artifacts such as copper pots and arrow heads that were found in the narrows date back many centuries. The narrows was always a choice among the people who lived here for many generations; it offered them some of the best hunting and fishing in the north. Before we were able to fully make sense of the culture in Buffalo Narrows, we had to find what and who influenced the history. Buffalo Narrows was influenced by many cultures (Cree, Dene, Norwegian, Scottish, German, French, Icelandic, and Swedish) this melding of cultures has evolved into who we are today. The European settlers married into the Aboriginal families and then came the Métis culture. The first influx of permanent settlers in Buffalo Narrows occurred in the 1920’s; many of the first settlers were transient trappers and fisherman. The foundation of Buffalo narrows was built on the premise of Education. By 1930 the settler’s children were of school age and found a need to build a school. Three of the families joined together and petitioned the government to build a school. After four years and a $500 grant from the government the first school was opened in 1934, it was the school which first brought many of the settlers from surrounding areas into Buffalo Narrows. These settlers wanted their children to have an education, so they moved to where the school was but continued to live their traditional lives of hunting, trapping and fishing. The first teacher in the school was Eva Sereda who later married a local man by the name of Pete Pedersen. In 1936 the first male teacher John Goertzen was hired. It was noted by others in the province because it was a time when most schools were run by nuns. John also eventually married a local person, one of the struggles that John encountered as a teacher was a problem with attendance due to the hunting and fishing. At one point John closed down the school for a month and went hunting and fishing himself, this was still the main source of survival in the community. The school was governed by the province and a local school board. In the early 1970’s the Northern School Board took control of the education. The death of the mink ranching industry in the late 1960s dealt a devastating blow to the economy of the region, resulting in increased unemployment and welfare. Fishing in the region peaked by the early 1970s, the fisherman were affected by the price support payments, the local sawmill was purchased by the government. Many major changes in the governmental structure occurred in Buffalo Narrows by 1972. The Department of Northern Saskatchewan Act was passed; its purpose was to accelerate the political, economic and social development in order to bring services and opportunities to a level comparable to those in the south. Buffalo narrows, like many northern communities, was greatly affected by this change in the governmental power structure. The trappers, hunters and fisherman were greatly affected by these changes; the traditional way of life was no longer sustainable. With the changes in government structure also came new jobs. The trappers, hunters and fisherman took on new trades such as laborers and carpenters. The school was the first on the North West side of the province to build a new gymnasium. At this point in time NORTEP students were being trained in the school; this was the beginning of educating our own people in Buffalo Narrows. []