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Indigenous-owned · Saskatoon, Treaty 6 · Shipping across Canada
An introduction to Fort Qu’Appelle: its history, the Nations whose lands it sits on, and Indigenous community life today, with sources.
Treaty 4 was signed here on September 15, 1874, and every September the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council hosts the Treaty 4 Gathering, a week of learning and remembrance with a feast, student programs, a career fair and a powwow. The Treaty 4 Governance Centre is also located in town. Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation and Pasqua First Nation are the closest reserves. The treaty talks of 1874 opened on September 8. Plains Cree chief Loud Voice, The Gambler and Chief Pasqua of the Saulteaux, and spokesperson Kamooses were among the Indigenous leaders. Saulteaux chiefs objected to meeting at the HBC post, saying the company had stolen their land. The treaty promised $5 a year per person and $25 for chiefs, with one square mile of reserve land per family of five. Adhesions continued into 1875, and reserve selection began in 1876. During the North-West Resistance of 1885, General Middleton used Fort Qu’Appelle as his headquarters.
Fort Qu’Appelle is on Treaty 4 territory. Treaty 4 was signed at Fort Qu’Appelle in 1874 between the Crown and Cree and Saulteaux nations. It is also the homeland of the Métis.
Nearby: Lebret · Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation · Pasqua First Nation · B-Say-Tah · Fort San · Balcarres
The File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council keeps its head office on Sioux Avenue. From there it runs Aboriginal Head Start on reserve, child care licensing, education, health, employment training and restorative justice programs. It also manages lands and resources, sports and recreation, and a healing centre. Its business arms include FHQ Developments, FHQ eCommerce and Keseechiwan Holdings. The town's hospital tells a story of First Nations-led health care. All Nations' Healing Hospital opened on June 12, 2004, replacing the Fort Qu'Appelle Indian Hospital that had operated since 1935. It is owned and operated by the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council and the Touchwood Agency Tribal Council. It has 14 acute care beds, an emergency department and 24-hour physician services. The hospital brings Indigenous and Western medicine together under one roof. Patients can reach traditional knowledge keepers, four of them on staff, along with traditional medicines and spiritual counselling. Staff speak five Indigenous languages among them. The building was designed around the relationship between mind, spirit, body and community. Its mission is to deliver safe, wholistic health services and research for the communities it serves.
More on the region: Indigenous Saskatchewan · all of Canada.
XUSI is an Indigenous-owned business from Saskatoon, started in 2020 by two brothers from northern Saskatchewan. Along with our clothing, we bring Indigenous youth workshops and custom screen printing to Fort Qu’Appelle and across Treaty 4 territory.
Strong Roots Strong Future is our interactive workshop for Indigenous youth, led by the two brothers who founded XUSI. We travel to schools, First Nations and Indigenous communities, youth organizations and funding programs in Fort Qu’Appelle and across Treaty 4 territory. Youth ages 10 and up work through identity and culture, financial literacy, fitness, entrepreneurship and business skills, career readiness and hands-on screen printing.
Custom t-shirts, hoodies and crewnecks for Fort Qu’Appelle schools, sports teams, businesses, events and First Nations and Indigenous organizations. Send us an idea, get free design help and a full quote before anything is printed. We print in Saskatoon and ship to Fort Qu’Appelle. 10-garment minimum, up to 4 colours per design.
Screen printing for Fort Qu’AppelleCustom clothing and designs
Heavyweight cotton tees, hoodies, crewnecks and A-frame hats with Cree words and the stories behind them. Fitness is part of how XUSI started, so our pieces are built for the gym and the street, and we ship them to Fort Qu’Appelle.
Custom screen printing starts at 10 garments, with up to 4 colours per design, and every order is quoted before printing. XUSI helps with the design, prints everything in Saskatoon and ships the order to Fort Qu’Appelle.
Orders totalling $90 or more ship free within Canada, including to Fort Qu’Appelle. Smaller orders have shipping calculated at checkout, and every order leaves Saskatoon within 1–3 business days.
The gathering runs each September, when valley days are warm and evenings turn cool. A heavyweight tee ($49.95) works during the powwow, and the Revitalize Culture crewneck ($89.95) is a good evening layer. Many of our designs carry a Cree word and story, explained on our meanings page.
Last reviewed . Facts on this page come from the sources listed below.
XUSI is run by two brothers from a small reserve community in northern Saskatchewan. They started the brand in Saskatoon in 2020, on Treaty 6 territory, and they draw every piece that ships to Fort Qu’Appelle.
The words on the clothing are Cree, and the meanings are written by the founders themselves. Read all of them on the Meanings page, or start with Cree language clothing.
