Prince Albert Grand Council Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte was rewarded for his efforts improving services for families missing loved ones prior to a memorial walk held Thursday.
The PAGC Women’s Commission awarded Hardlotte with a star blanket in thanks for his support, both as chief and vice chief, of improving the search and rescue capabilities of the grand council.
‘We decided we should do something for our grand chief, said omen’s commission chair Shirley Henderson.
“he has done so much for the grand council. One of the main areas was forming a search and recuse team.”
Prior to the formation of the team, the PAGC had few, if any, services for families of missing loved ones, Henderson said.
“When someone went missing, we didn’t know where to start looking. We didn’t have maps, we didn’t have food, we didn’t have any supplies whatsoever. He came forward with some financial support for search and rescue teams out there.”
He placed the star blanket on the chief’s shoulders.
“This is for our Grand Chief forming a search and rescue team and all the work you have done for the members,” Henderson said.
During his time as grand chief, Hardlotte has also signed memoranda of understanding with the Prince Albert Police Service and the RCMP to help speed up search and rescue operations in north and central Saskatchewan.
As part of the agreements, police agencies have agreed to work with Indigenous leaders and communities to use all available resources when searching for missing persons. Locally, that means using the PAGC’s search and rescue team more, while in the north, it provides a more formal way to communicate with Indigenous leaders and community members.
