About 150 First Nations students attending reserve schools have registered for a province-wide spelling bee to be held in North Battleford in April.
The nine winners will go on to the national competition in Toronto in May.
Local organizer Pauline Favel says spelling bees are nothing new for most school children, but that is not the case when you look at small First Nations schools.
“The reality is we have children coming from Dillon, also from Whitebear,” she said.
“Who knows, those kids could be raised by their grandparents who don’t have the financial means to take their kids, if they won, to Toronto.”
Favel is a student support worker at the Poundmaker School east of North Battleford. She says the event is a first for on-reserve native students in all of Canada.
The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority has come on board as the major sponsor.