For nine days in July, Peguis First Nation Treaty Grounds bursts into a mecca of thousands of people, both local and visitors. Events and games are planned and in place for the week. Camps, Shades and Restaurants have sprung up.

Peguis Treaty Days brings out the community spirit and pride.

Peguis becomes one big family, as families and visitors come together to renew kinship and make new friendships. Peguis Treaty Days is a fun-filled happy time to enjoy oneself.

This is not any easy task for one person to coordinate such a massive event and to make it a success that Peguis can be proud of. The week long events, the Dances, the Pow-Wow, the BINGO, the Elders Day, the Adult Events, the Children and Youth events…

Linda Chick had applied to take on the task again, as she has for the past thirty years. Telephone calls to entertainers & vendors, emails to departments, postings for casual help, meetings with Council and departments, register teams for competition, oversee grounds preparation, prepare budgets and applications for grants and do it all over again and again. The two months prior to Treaty it is non-stop, all night, on-call planning and preparation. Marketing campaigns, posters and promotion are a priority to ensure community members and visitors can plan their holiday to Peguis.

Then Treaty begins with the smell of bannock burgers drawing you to the grounds, the laughter of friends meeting up, the scream of young kids playing and to hear the sound of the fiddle luring you to the open air hall to do a two-step. Linda is at her finest with the stress and turmoil of event planning and troubleshooting. Her years of experience and resources allows her to know who to call, who is available to assist and where to find supports. She catches a rest or sleep when she can and makes herself available to ensure the success of Treaty and that people have a great time and enjoy themselves in Peguis. Then comes the clean-up and reporting to close the files for Peguis Treaty Days 2017. The administration is a time-consuming chore, but it must get done to ensure accountability.

The Peguis Surrender Claim Trust acknowledges Linda Chick for her commitment to the Peguis Treaty Days coordination and for her leadership role in planning community events. She has a big heart and takes pride in her planning to make sure events are well organized and enjoyable. We say thank you to Linda Chick, a Community Leader, for work well done.

Kiche Migwetch to Our Community Leaders