Highway 201 will be named to honour Chief Kahkewistahaw, who was one of the original signers of Treaty 4 on Sept. 15, 1874. The highway will now have a dual designation.
When a highway receives dual designation, the original highway number remains. This ensures consistency for emergency responders, shippers, travelers and online mapping services.
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The 20-kilometre highway runs through Kahkehwistahaw First Nation.
“Chief Kahkewistahaw was known for his unwavering commitment to his people and his ability to adapt to changing times while protecting our traditional lands,” Kahkewistahaw Chief Evan Taypotat said in a press release. “This renaming honours not just a great chief but represents our ongoing journey of reconciliation and the important recognition of Indigenous leadership in the history of these lands.”
The statement said, “Commemorative signs will be added to Highway 201 markers recognizing the road is now also known as Chief Kahkewistahaw Way. The distinctive sign design was developed in consultation with community members.”
“Chief Kahkewistahaw Way recognizes a visionary chief who led his people with great distinction,” Highways Minister David Marit said in a press release. “We are grateful to Chief Evan Taypotat for recommending this dual designation, which will remind us of one of the people who shaped the history of this region.”
A committee that included representatives from the Government of Saskatchewan, Kahkewistahaw First Nation, Town of Broadview and Rural Municipality of Elcapo, named the highway.
According to the ministry, Highway 201 is the third provincial highway to receive a dual designation honouring an Indigenous leader, following Highway 11 Louis Riel Trail and Highway 219 Chief Whitecap Trail.
“The province was also the first in Canada to recognize Treaty boundaries with official highway signs. The Government of Saskatchewan has erected signs at eight locations across Saskatchewan to mark the boundaries of each of the numbered Treaties with occupied lands. They include Treaties 2, 4, 5, 6, 6A, 8 and 10,” read the statement.
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