When Little Black Bear First Nation set out to enter the electric vehicle charging industry, there was no roadmap to follow. Project manager Michelle Bellegarde found no local expertise to draw on; one of her first calls, to Petro-Canada head office, was redirected to a contact in Indiana. The industry was that new, and moving fast. Keeping pace meant relentless research and a willingness to go above and beyond to understand how the business worked.
That persistence paid off. Today, an EV charging station stands on Little Black Bear lands near Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, beside the Nation's Petro-Canada gas station and Tim Hortons. It makes Little Black Bear the first independent First Nation to own and operate a charging station on its own land.
For the Nation, the project was about more than infrastructure. Clean energy reflects Little Black Bear's holistic values and connection to the earth, and the vision of a more sustainable world for future generations. It also builds on a long-standing commitment by Chief and Council to economic development that benefits all members, adding a new revenue stream to the Nation's growing commercial hub.
The project received $200,000 through the Saskatchewan Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative (SICEI), a Strategic Partnership Initiative co-led by PrairiesCan and Indigenous Services Canada. SICEI supports Indigenous organizations and communities in developing long-term businesses, generating revenue, creating employment, building equitable partnerships and reducing emissions within the clean energy sector. For Bellegarde, that support was decisive.
“The government was actually pretty amazing” she says. “Without their support and the funding we received, I don't think it would have been possible.”
The charging station is a first step, not a finish line. Little Black Bear continues to pursue clean energy opportunities and partnerships as it works to become a competitive player in the transition to a net-zero economy.
“It's really new, really exciting,” says Bellegarde. “And it's the start of something bigger for the future.”
Transcript: Little Black Bear First Nation charges into the clean energy economy
[Music begins]
[Video opens with an aerial that shot drifts down toward a giant steel tipi — about a dozen slender white poles crossing near the top — standing on a circular island of grass. The camera slides past it to reveal a long, curved, pale three-story building with rows of windows, and a wide gravel lot filled with parked pickup trucks and SUVs.]
Text on the screen: Lower right of frame: “EV Charging Project. Little Black Bear First Nation. Fort Qu'appelle, SK.”
Michelle Bellegarde: Our nation was interested in working in the clean energy industry as it aligns with a lot of our core values of our nation.
[Video transitions to a woman (Michelle) that stands outdoors in an open field. She has long dark hair worn loose, black-framed glasses, and a cream wool coat over a black turtleneck. Behind her, a white canvas tipi stands beside a low white building, with a wooded hillside and pale sky beyond.
Text on the screen: Across the lower right: “Michelle Bellegarde. Project Manager.”
Michelle Bellegarde: When I was asked to do the project, it was so new that if there was no information, like offhand, I remember one of the first things that I did, like when I was compiling research on the electrical charging industry, there was nothing local.
[Video transitions to an aerial shot of a Petro-Canada station with a bright red canopy sits beside a black-walled building. On a concrete pad between the two buildings stand two electric-vehicle chargers, ringed by short red safety bollards.
[Video transitions as camera drops close to the ground and eases toward the chargers: two upright cabinets, one bright orange and one brushed silver, each capped with a glowing green light bar and trailing thick black cables.]
[Video transitions back to Michelle, closer now, glancing off to the side as she speaks.]
Michelle Bellegarde: So I remember one of the first calls that I made it was to Petro Canada head office and then they gave me a number in Indiana for a charging station.
[Video transitions to a wider shot again, the white tipi over her shoulder.]
Michelle Bellegarde: It was like crazy.
[Video transitions to bring the charging pad and the fuel station back into view.]
Michelle Bellegarde: But I think that's, you know, the lesson learned is how fast the industry moves and just, you know, staying on it and going above and beyond to try find out like different avenues on on how it moves and how it works.
[Video transitions to a close-up on the orange charger. A green light bar runs across the top; below it a display shows a single word in green letters, over a large white logo and a small colour touchscreen. A charging nozzle rests in its holster on the side. The camera drifts around the pad to show both units together, the red bollards between them, and pickup trucks parked beyond.]
[Video transitions back to Michelle again in a wider shot, the tipi behind her.]
Michelle Bellegarde: Our nation was interested in this project because it aligns with a lot of the values with that we hold close to the heart, you know, having a more sustainable earth for the future generations.
[Video transitions to a top-down view of the charging pad from above.]
Michelle Bellegarde: So we were the first individual band to have a electrical charging station on our land.
[Video transitions to a mid-shot of Michelle]
Michelle Bellegarde: The government was actually pretty amazing. I don't think without them, I would have, you know, navigated through this whole system and without the support of the government officials and, and the grants we received, I don't think it would be possible.
[Video transitions to a long aerial shot over the valley: a small town of houses and trees, a highway and a railway line running through it, dry golden hillsides rising on either side, and a lake stretching away to the horizon.]
Michelle Bellegarde: And they were so supportive and just, you know, really big cheerleaders for myself in this project, my chief and counsel were so supportive.
[Video transitions back to Michelle, a slight smile as she speaks.]
Michelle Bellegarde: They've always had a historic interest in economic development and furthering growth for our people, for our community and for the future generations.
[Video transitions to an aerial shot looking down on the charging pad, cars and pickups parked around it in the lot.]
Michelle Bellegarde: Really new, really exciting.
[Video transitions to a closeup on Michelle.]
Michelle Bellegarde: And it's a start of something bigger, I think, for the future.
[Video transitions to a final aerial shot that rises over the valley and the lake. Speech ends; the music continues.]
Text on the screen: “Started in 2023, the Saskatchewan Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative is a Federal Government Strategic Partnership Initiative (SPI) that focuses on project partnerships between Indigenous groups, all levels of government, industry and others that aim to increase Indigenous participation in the clean energy sector in Saskatchewan.” Below: “For more information about the initiative and how to apply, contact: ISP-SK-SPI@sac-isc.gc.ca”
Text on the screen: “Partnering for Indigenous Prosperity — Strategic Partnerships Initiative” Beneath it: “With the support of Prairies Economic Development Canada and Indigenous Services Canada.”
[Video transitions to the Government of Canada wordmark — the word “Canada” with a small Canadian flag above the final letter.]
[The music fades out. End of video.]
