PHEASANT RUMP NAKOTA FIRST NATIONS - Olive McArthur and Stan Golar are from Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation (PRNFN) and when McArthur found herself without a job, she created her own work.
In 1998, the Government of Saskatchewan offered tax-free gas and tobacco to Indigenous communities that they could sell, and this was something McArthur and Golar felt was a great opportunity for a business.
Broken Arrow Gas Bar is located on the north side of Highway 13, across from Kisbey on the corner of PRNFN’s land.
Starting from scratch in 1998, McArthur and Golar moved an 18-foot camper onto the property, and this was the beginning of their store. They had very little funds to spare and needed to acquire a loan to get things rolling.
They needed a sign on the yard. This was accomplished by digging holes with a tea cup and the posts were set and blocked. They remain to this day, steady and firm in the ground.
Wanting to add the sale of gasoline, they needed a tank, but once again they needed money. The company they received the gas tank from offered a payment plan, and this was another move in the right direction.
When the camper became too small for business, a mobile home was put in its place to offer them more room for supplies. Business was doing well, and McArthur could work at a job they had created and did the infrastructure for by getting in power and heat for the trailer.
Golar was a truck driver and did long hauls. He was not always available to help out.
In time, they built a permanent structure which houses a store and a shop which is used for repairs by their son Warren McArthur.
In 2017, Olive McArthur thought it was time to retire. Golar passed away in 2003, and McArthur became the Pheasant Rump chief from 2004-2011. She is now 80 years old. She has a degree in business administration, does the books for Warren, and still makes star quilts for special occasions, but she handed over the keys to the business to Warren and her granddaughter Kailann McArthur.
Kailann is the manager and takes care of the ordering, staffing, public relations and anything else that is needed. She is a professional cook.
In 2022, an addition was constructed on the building's west side by Will Henry, and this used for the Broken Arrow Trading Post.
The trading post has been filled with items made by Blenda Bourassa and Lavina McArthur. Bourassa has attended many trade shows, including most of the powwows that are held in Saskatchewan.
One Christmas, she was going to make her sister Lavina a pair of mitts, but time ran out, so instead she taught her sister how to make them.
Lavina McArthur is also making mitts and moccasins. The sisters work together at the store in creating their pieces. Some of the items are plain and others have detailed beaded work on them, but they are all handmade.
Dolls are also made. These are incredibly detailed with little vests being lined, the belt to a knife sash at the back. They are the same regalia seen at powwows, just made to a smaller scale.
The store is bright with a large mural on the west wall, and custom-made shelving on the others.
They have a large sewing table in the room, which will house the material they will use for making purses, wallets and makeup cases.
They hope to gain enough products to attend powwows in the future, but for this year they will focus on the store.
With their location right on the highway, they hope to attract people that are going to the cottage or are in Saskatchewan for a summer holiday.
They are excited about this new adventure and hope to see people dropping in to view the many items they have made.
