Kawacatoose First Nation and Sustainable Communities Initiative launch agricultural project

Kawacatoose First Nation (KFN) is located in the Touchwood Hills, about 100 km north of Regina, Canada. The original reserve prior to 1991 was approximately 17,280 acres in size. Through negotiations with the Federal and Provincial governments, KFN has increased its potential land holdings almost seven fold in the past 12 years, for a potential total land base of 128,522 acres to be managed by the KFN. Managing and monitoring use and occupation of an expanding land base will become a challenge that can be eased by use of a Geographical Information System. For the purpose of the pilot project, and through the guidance of Kawacatoose Elders, the decision has been made to develop value-added, organic-based agriculture. This project will train three employees of the Kawacatoose Land and Resource Management Unit in the use of GIS/GPS. They will produce a Community Land Use Base map of the KFN land base in order to track and manage land usage.