NEW POLICE SERVICE FOR STANDING BUFFALO DAKOTA FIRST NATION

Released on April 22, 1996

An agreement establishing a new on-reserve policing service for the
Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation was announced today by
Saskatchewan Justice Minister John Nilson, Chief Mel Isnana, and
federal Solicitor General Herb Gray.

Under the agreement, an Aboriginal member of the RCMP-First Nations
Community Policing Service (FNCPS) will work full-time out of a
community office located on the reserve near Fort Qu'Appelle. A Police
Management Board, with local membership, will be established to help
set priorities and improve police-community accountability. An elder
will also be available to assist the officer in policing matters.

The new police service comes after a year of negotiations and
discussions to establish a dedicated police service that would be more
responsive and sensitive to the culture and needs of the people of the
Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation.

"The Saskatchewan government is pleased to be involved in strengthening
police accountability to the Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation,"
Nilson said. "Increasing First Nations management of policing helps
improve the safety and security of residents and makes the police
service even more responsive to the individual needs of communities."

"Having a First Nations police officer living and working in our
community is a step forward," Chief Isnana said. "With the guidance of
our police management board and the assistance of our elders, these
First Nations officers will provide policing services that meet the
needs of our communities and are sensitive to our culture."

"The tripartite agreements are an example of the federal government's
desire to work in partnership with the provincial governments and First
Nations so that they can assume greater responsibility and exercise
greater control over that which affects their community," Gray said.
"The agreement for the Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation
demonstrates that desire."

This Tripartite Agreement is signed under the provisions of the
framework agreement signed in May, 1993, by the Federation of
Saskatchewan Indian Nations, the province of Saskatchewan and Canada.

The federal government will pay 52 per cent and the provincial
government 48 per cent of the cost of establishing and maintaining the
new police service.

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For more information, contact:

Anita Gordon-Murdoch Lisa Ann Wood
Ministry of the Solicitor Saskatchewan Justice
General of Canada Regina
Regina Phone: (306) 787-7872
Phone: (306) 780-7350

Chief Mel Isnana
Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation
Phone: (306) 332-4685