Cameco employees cooked more than 900 steaks on a four-person grill Wednesday in La Ronge. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

hungry residents

Free steak supper lures hundreds to downtown urban reserve

Jul 10, 2025 | 2:42 PM

Nearly 1,000 people lined up in La Ronge on Wednesday to sink their teeth into a juicy sirloin steak.

It was all part of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band’s (LLRIB) Family Wellness Conference being held this week at the urban reserve. Thanks to a $10,000 donation from Cameco, the band purchased 1,000 steaks, and more than 900 people showed up with an empty belly to eat them.

It took a momentous effort to feed so many people with Cameco staff utilizing a large four-person grill provided by Athabasca Catering. The meal also included sides such as wild rice, fried potatoes, sauteed onions and mushrooms, salad, and cupcakes.

“What they did is they pre-cooked the steaks to brown them on each side, then they started cooking the steaks as fast as they could,” said LLRIB Chief Tammy Cook-Searson.

“It was a really smooth process and the steaks were excellent. I had one and they were enjoyed by all.”

LLRIB

Ratt wins Sucker River byelection

1h ago

NEW DEVELOPMENT

$1.9M land sale paves way for South Riverview growth in North Battleford

2h ago

staffing issues

NLSD short 33 teachers as start of school year nears

2h ago

Cook-Searson, who sits on the Cameco board, explained the uranium giant was asked on short notice for the donation. She said the idea came from the annual Elder’s Gathering at Pinehouse Lake, where Cameco always sponsors a steak night meal.

A team of 12 people headed by Irene Simon have been in charge of feeding hundreds of conference attendees breakfast, lunch and supper since Tuesday. Tuesday included a fish fry with many sides dishes, and on Thursday, hamburgers and hotdogs will be served courtesy of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, who Cook-Searson is the chairperson of.

The free steak meal resulted is a large line up down La Ronge Avenue. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

There were plenty of sides available to go along with the steak. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

“We had people who went out and set fish nets and made the fish. In the summertime, the fish goes bad really fast, so they had to make them really fast and get them in a cold place. The fish fry went really well,” Cook-Searson noted.

“We didn’t have any moose meat, so I called (Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations) Chief Bobby Cameron and he was able to get a hunter to get us a moose, so we had moose meat stew and bannock for lunch yesterday. We still have more moose meat left.”

The Family Wellness Conference was not only a chance to bring the community together, but an opportunity to support one another through the many issues residents are currently facing. Cook-Searson added it was also a moment to recognize the stress community members endured during the nearly two-week long evacuation in June due to wildfires.

The main sponsor of the event was La Ronge Family and Child Services, which donated $100,000, with other support coming from all six LLRIB communities, Town of La Ronge, Northlands College, Woodland Wellness Centre, Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership, and the LLRIB’s Health Services, and Prevention and Recovery departments.

—

derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com