Saskatchewan

Origin of the Name

The Cree name for the Saskatchewan River was "Kisiskatchewanisipi," meaning "swift-flowing river". Through common use, this eight-syllable name was shortened to Saskatchewan. In 1882, it became the name of one of the districts of the Northwest Territories.

History

Saskatchewan was originally inhabited by First Nations of the Athapaskan, Algonquian and Siouan linguistic groups. Three Athapaskan nations lived in the north: the Chipewyan, the Beaver and the Slavey. Two Algonquian nations - the Cree and the Blackfoot - occupied the central part of the province. The south was inhabited predominantly by the Siouan nations - the Assiniboine and the Gros Ventres. The influence of Aboriginal peoples in Saskatchewan is evident from the great variety of Aboriginal place names across the province.

Because the prairie, which makes up much of the province, was of little monetary interest to the early fur traders, southern Saskatchewan was relatively untouched by Europeans for many years. The northern wooded regions, on the other hand, were dotted with fur-trading posts early in Canadian history. The first explorer was Henry Kelsey, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, who followed the Saskatchewan River into the plains of Saskatchewan in about 1690.

Both Britain and the Province of Canada sent expeditions in the mid-1800s to explore the area and assess its agricultural potential. The Dominion Lands Act of 1872, combined with legislation to stimulate immigration, strongly encouraged homesteaders in Saskatchewan. In the 1880s, the newly constructed Canadian Pacific Railway brought settlers to farm the rich land. A great wave of immigration from Eastern Europe swept across the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1905, the Province of Saskatchewan was formed by joining parts of the districts of Saskatchewan, Athabaska and Assiniboia. It became the only province with boundaries not based on any particular geographical features. Saskatchewan and its neighbouring province of Alberta also share the distinction of being the only Canadian provinces that are not bordered by salt water.

Agriculture, particularly wheat and other cereal crops, but also oilseeds and livestock, continues to be the mainstay of the Saskatchewan economy. The province has 40 percent of Canada's farmland and produces 60 percent of the country's wheat. However, the economy is increasingly diversified thanks to the wealth of mineral resources: Saskatchewan has half the world's potash reserves, Canada's largest heavy oil reserves, coal, gold, and rich uranium deposits. The one million inhabitants of Saskatchewan, about 3.3 percent of Canada's population, reflect the ethnic diversity of Aboriginal, British, German, Ukrainian, Scandinavian, French and other peoples. The largest city is Saskatoon, which has a population of 224,000. Regina, the seat of government, has a population of 193,000.