SASKATCHEWAN

Saskatchewan is located in the heart of North America, neighbouring the provinces of Manitoba and Alberta. To the south it borders the American states of Montana and North Dakota. To the north are the Canadian territories of Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Saskatchewan covers an area of 651,900 square kilometres and contrary to popular belief, fully one half the province is covered by forest, one-third is farmland and one-eighth is fresh water, with over 100,000 lakes! Saskatchewan is home to a million people, many with family roots in Europe, Russia, Scandinavia and the British Isles. Although the province is dependent on the farm economy, two-thirds of its people live in the cities and towns.

The Cree name for the Saskatchewan River was "Kisiskatchewanisipi", meaning "swift-flowing river". This eight-syllable name was gradually shortened to Saskatchewan, and in 1882, it became the name of one of the districts of the Northwest Territories.

Saskatchewan was originally inhabited by Indian tribes of the Athabaskan, Algonquian and Siouan linguistic groups. The influence of native peoples in Saskatchewan is evident in the great variety of Indian place names. Because the prairie, which makes up much of the province, was of little monetary interest to early fur traders, southern Saskatchewan was relatively untouched by Europeans for many years. However, the northern wooded regions were dotted with fur trading posts early in Canadian history.