During December 2019 and January 2020 I had the pleasure of showcasing a collection of prints in the Prairie Peoples Showcase at the Saskatoon Airport. Keep scrolling to read my artist statement and view the photos that were on display.

Katee Pederson is a photographer and outdoorswoman currently residing on Treaty 6 Land and Homeland of the Metis People in Saskatoon. Though born and raised on the prairies, it wasn’t until she was 22 that she made her first visit to the Canadian Shield in Northern Saskatchewan. Despite having lived, worked, and explored around the world, there was something about the rocks and rivers of Treaty 10 Land just north of La Ronge that helped Katee come alive in the outdoors. Sparking her sense for adventure in wild places, she couldn’t believe that such a magnificent place had been waiting for her so close to home. After her first life-changing canoe trip in the region in 2016, Katee has been bringing groups to paddle the waters of the Churchill River System each season knowing the great potential for similar experiences to take place for others.

In the spring of 2019 a group of paddle leaders and guides from throughout the province embarked on another one of these trips. After travelling by float plane from the small community of Missinipe, the team landed on the Paull River to begin their 5 day paddle downstream to join the Churchill River and finish back where they started. The trip had multiple purposes: to develop as leaders, to scout the river for a similar trip later in the summer, to improve upon their white water paddling skills, and for Katee, to document the adventure in efforts to expose others to the well kept secret of Northern Saskatchewan.

Katee loves that no matter the various goals of any trip to the back country, human connection is always the most prevalent outcome. The ability to connect with those around you increases exponentially when you’re away from cell service and creature comforts. Working together to overcome challenging situations, navigate the waters each day, and meet the groups essential needs of food and shelter bonds people in a unique way. There are wild places which facilitate this across our country but Katee has found that people feel especially drawn back to the landscape in which they first experienced such connection. For her this place of return will always be Saskatchewan’s northern waterways.

Katee is a firm believer that being outside provides opportunities for growth unlike any other and that outdoor adventure can be found everywhere - especially in Saskatchewan.