David Stobbe

Sep 26, 2024 | canadiangeographic.ca | Cara McKenna |David Stobbe |Dallin Schmidt

Every morning, Raylene Cardinal displays a different nêhiyawêwin word on the board in her classroom for her students to learn. Today, the word is nîpin — summer. It’s almost the end of the school year, and the children are preparing to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day with a cultural event at the school. “I teach them how to say it [and] what the word means. It’s a new word every single day, just to build that awareness of the Cree language and who they are,” explains Cardinal.

Aug 2, 2024 | canadiangeographic.ca | Candace Savage |David Stobbe

The South Saskatchewan River is beautiful. That’s the first thing you need to know about her. From my vantage point on her east bank near my home in Saskatoon, I watch her slide silently past, her surface mirroring the trees along the far shoreline and the fairytale outline of the Bessborough Hotel. Somewhere upstream, geese are bleating loudly. Vehicles on the bridges purr back and forth, producing a sibilant hush. There are no sirens, no flashing lights, no obvious signs that this river is at risk.

Jun 14, 2024 | canadiangeographic.ca | Alanna Mitchell |David Stobbe

One summer, when the theatre artist Floyd Favel was in his early 20s, he went to a Sun Dance ceremony in the Qu’Appelle Valley of southern Saskatchewan. An Assiniboine Elder from Montana spotted him and gestured for him to come over. Intrigued, Favel did. The Elder made more gestures with his hands. Favel was astounded.