Province’s new Treaty Commissioner a woman of firsts
- NC Raine | March 21, 2018
Mary Culbertson, the newly appointed Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, is responsible for a couple significant firsts. Not only is she the first woman to serve as Treaty Commissioner, she's also the first woman from her hometown Keeseekoose First Nation to receive a law degree. This sort of forward-thinking has been engrained in her from an early age.
“I've wanted to be a lawyer since I was four years old,” says Culbertson. “I would watch [law shows] with my grandparents – it was always about injustices and being the underdog. I remember thinking I wanted to help people.”
Her path to Treaty Commissioner, though, has taken a myriad of different directions. Culbertson has served for over 20 years in the various levels of government and Indigenous organizations, including Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Corrections Services Canada, and the FSIN, as well as her Sunchild law firm. She says her diverse work history has been beneficial in her newest career undertaking.
“It's been helpful in understanding how bureaucracies work, especially in the federal and provincial government,” she says. “It's increased my confidence knowing that, yes, as a First Nations woman, I can sit at this table and I can understand everything you're saying.”
As Treaty Commissioner for the next three years, Culbertson is tasked with bringing federal and provincial governments together with First Nations to help honour treaty promises. Some of her main priorities include public education and increasing treaty literacy.
“[One goal] is increasing the speaker's bureau so it is representative of all treaties across the province, all genders, and all languages. Linguistic and gender equity needs to be First Nations more,” she says.
“There's also so much work to be done in reconciliation in our rural areas. It can't be just First Nations and Indigenous communities always at the table with no one else. We need to increase our rural participation – we need to double down efforts on public education and meaningful reconciliation.”
Part of Culbertson's strategy is to engage younger generations in treaty awareness and understanding to cultivate a more responsible culture and dispel some longstanding myths.
“It's a huge myth that [Indigenous people] don't pay tax or get free education. The general public don't know the disparity on and off reserves,” said Culbertson. “We need to have allies. Younger generations are knowing it at a younger age that they have a responsibility to be a good treaty partner and treat their fellow human being with respect.”
Culbertson says she plans to return to her First Nation to practice law following her tenure as Treaty Commissioner and hopes to find other young women taking positions of influence.
“I think it's very important to see women in different ranks in government,” she says. “Right now, I'm still the only woman from my First Nation who is a lawyer. I'm hoping I'm not the only one for very long.”