Heritage Saskatchewan

A reminder that Culture Days, a free, interactive celebration of arts, heritage and culture from coast to coast to coast, is fast approaching...September 24-26 to be exact. Culture Days is a collaborative pan-Canadian volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts, heritage and cultural life of their communities.

Heritage Saskatchewan is a strong supporter of Culture Days here in Saskatchewan and would like to encourage its members to get involved and plan something special; a list of events planned, so far, in Saskatchewan can be found at: http://www.culturedays.ca/en/celebration-schedule/search/results?keywords=&province=SK&category=&category%5B%5D=&type=&type%5B%5D=&language=&start=&end

Open houses, art festivals, block parties, public tours, concerts, performance showcases are being planned across the country to celebrate local arts, culture and heritage. Send Heritage Saskatchewan your celebratory details and we’ll let the heritage community know all about it.  At the same time, you can register your event nationally on the Culture Days website at:   http://www.culturedays.ca/en/join-the-movement/register-an-activity”

Heritage Saskatchewan's Top 10 Heritage Links:

1. Historic Places in Saskatchewan Municipalities.

Local governments play a key role in the protection and promotion of these historic places. To learn more about the heritage activities that Saskatchewan's municipalities are involved in, and to understand the challenges they face, Saskatchewan's Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport (TPCS) sent a questionnaire to all municipal offices in the provincein 2008. The data collected from the study has been compiled in a report: Historic Places in Saskatchewan Municipalities.

An excellent and thorough summary of its results is can be on our website at:  http://www.heritagesask.ca/resources/tools  or on the TPCS website at: http://www.tpcs.gov.sk.ca/MunicipalSurvey

2. The Historic Places Initiative (HPI) in Saskatchewan

In 2003, Saskatchewan joined the pan-Canadian Historic Places Initiative (HPI) to help fulfil the program's mandate to build a culture of heritage conservation across Canada.

Through the Heritage Resources Branch of Saskatchewan Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport (TPCS), a team of heritage professionals worked to realize Saskatchewan's objectives for the program. These objectives were to:

• Nominate Saskatchewan's 800-plus Provincial and Municipal Heritage Properties, Provincial Historic Parks, and Historic Sites for listing on the Canadian Register of Historic Places;
•  Encourage local governments to use the Standards and Guidelines to manage historic resources in their community; and
•  Build awareness of our province's historic places and the conservation tools of HPI among Saskatchewan's residents.

These objectives were met through a variety of activities. HPI team members worked with municipalities and property owners to prepare Statements of Significance for each of Saskatchewan's designated historic places. These statements formed the focal point of the listings that were placed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. As well, team members met and collaborated with a variety of individuals, groups, organizations and government agencies across the province to promote the economic, environmental and cultural benefits of heritage conservation, and the use of the HPI tools.

An complete and thorough description of all heritage-designated sites  in the province of Saskatchewan (in alphabetical order) are easily available at: http://www.historicplaces.ca/visit-visite/resultats-results.aspx?Type=1&IsBasic=True&Name=&Prov=SK&FuncCat=&FuncType=&Loc=&Image=False&ShowMap=0

3. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)

COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) is a committee of experts that assesses and designates which wildlife species are in some danger of disappearing from Canada. COSEWIC acts as an advisory body to the Government of Canada, thus ensuring that wildlife species will continue to be assessed using the best available scientific and aboriginal traditional knowledge. The government of Canada takes COSEWIC's designations into consideration when establishing the legal list of wildlife species at risk.

Their website, complete with numerous status reports and wildlife species assessements, is a very good source for information relating to the condition of wildlife species across rthe country; please see: http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/

4. Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan (SK PCAP)

The Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan (SK PCAP) Partnership brings together 31 agencies and organizations representing producers, industry, provincial & federal governments, non-government organizations and research & educational institutions working towards a common vision of prairie and species at risk conservation in Saskatchewan. The PCAP Partnership has proven to be an important forum for guiding conservation and management efforts within Saskatchewan's Prairie Ecozone as it:

• reduces duplication;
• increases communication and coordination amongst partners;
• addresses gaps in native prairie research/activities and programming;
• guides the development of programs and policies that reward sustainable use and promote ecological health and integrity including species at risk recovery; and
• improves public understanding of native prairie and species at risk.

Their website can be found at: http://www.pcap-sk.org/

5. Texas Historical Commission

An excellent example of a local, in this case a state, historical society embracing all aspects of its unique history, culture and heritage and working with numerous stakeholders to really in-grain the notion of heritage at all levels of government and society.

Their well developed website can be found at: http://www.thc.state.tx.us/index.shtml ; the section detailing Grants and Economic Incentives is particularly interesting.

6. Cultural Heritage Tourism

Cultural heritage tourism is traveling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present. It includes historic, cultural and natural attractions.

The Cultural Heritage Tourism Alliance (CHTA) has developed a website to act as a resource for organizations and individuals who are developing, marketing or managing cultural heritage tourism attractions or programs. These cultural heritage tourism "practitioners" can come from a variety of fields-tourism, historic preservation, the arts, humanities, museums, economic development, main street, heritage areas, and many other fields. Practitioners can include non-profit organizations, government entities, federal agencies and coalitions formed to bring these and other partners together. While the variety of different partners contribute to the richness of cultural heritage tourism, it can also make it more difficult to track down resources and how-to information.

This electronic clearinghouse includes information provided by many different members of Partners in Tourism, a coalition of the national organizations and agencies with an interest in cultural heritage tourism. For those just getting started, there are guiding principles and how-to steps for launching a new effort. The success stories featured here will both inspire and inform, and the resources section includes key contacts in virtually every state as well as national resources for funding, technical assistance and other programs; please visit at: http://www.culturalheritagetourism.org/aboutUs.htm 

7. The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan

The online version of the best seller The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan: A Living Legacy  includes 2,300 entries and the 21 in-depth essays found in the printed hardcover Encyclopedia. The French electronic version includes the 21 essays and a number of entries about Saskatchewan francophones, French and Métis settlements and French education. Additional photos along with video and audio clips enliven the online text, and visitors are able to search for articles and images. Canadian Plains Research Center staff continuously update the online content; http://www.esask.uregina.ca/

8. Our Legacy

This co-operative website contains material relating to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples, found in Saskatchewan cultural and heritage collections.

mamātāwi-āpacihcikan ita nānatohk kayas ohci masinahikanis mīna āsay kā-osihcikātēki masinahikanisa aya ohci nistam-iyiniwak, iskipowak, mīna āpihtawi-kosisānak, kā-miskikātēki ita kisiskāciwanihk.

Diri þahtthe hoþüné ¿ú, Hotél ena ¿ú, Begháæq dené becvanié beghq honü tsqtsäné ben} h|lü æe nérölya, Saskatchewan hoæéyághe þahtthe hoþüné betßü eriht´ís kóp dáhóla eyer hotßü.

Material for this site comes from several of Saskatchewan's publicly-accessible archives. It is primarily intended to increase the information normally available for archival material by providing access to descriptions of material at a file or item level. Where appropriate, some guides (finding aids) are also available. Although less comprehensive, the site also includes some published (library) and artifactual (museum) material. Please note that materials have been digitized based on consideration of known copyright, privacy, and particularly, cultural concerns; please go to: http://scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy/

9. UNESCO World Heritage Centre

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

UNESCO's World Heritage mission is to:

• encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage;
• encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List;
•  encourage States Parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites;
•  help States Parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training;
•  provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger;
•  support States Parties' public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation;
•  encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage;
•  encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world's cultural and natural heritage.

A complete listing of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, all 890 of them (including the 15 in Canada), can be found at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list

10. The Community Information Database

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada have created The Community Information Database (CID), an easy-to-use, free, on-line tool which provides a detailed statistical overview of Canadian communities.

You can: create and download maps, charts and tables; compare your community with other similar-sized communities; research and analyze population changes; create your own community and regional profiles

The CID is a compilation of facts and figures derived from a number of sources, including the latest from Statistics Canada's 2006 Census. It was developed by the Rural Secretariat in collaboration with provincial, territorial and community partners. The Rural Secretariat is a focal point for the Government of Canada to work in partnership with Canadians in rural and remote areas to build strong, dynamic communities.

Information Available:

• Population
•  Age
•  Income
•  Employment Rate
•  Employment by Sector
•  Education
•  Immigration and Citizenship
•  Language
•  Resource Relliance
•  Health
•  Crime; and much more

The CID is a reliable, innovate tool for community groups, private and non-profit organizations, government policy makers, businesses, academics or individuals; please go to: http://cid-bdc.ca/