Since 2003, Turning the Tide Bookstore has been an active presence in Saskatoon’s social justice and environmental communities. Its mission: providing educational materials and resources for community change. Over the years, the shop grew into more than just a bookstore. Following in the footsteps of organizations that came before it like One Sky Learner Centre, Onion Books, and the Community Outreach and Education Centre, it became a hub of activism and support for those alienated from and seeking alternatives to mainstream culture. At the same time, we were limited in the change we could support by our small space and our focus on information and education.
When Turning the Tide was evicted after eleven years in the little red house off Broadway, it seemed like the perfect time to re-vision the role it could play in the community. Based on community consultations held in the spring of 2014, we decided to be one of the founding members of a new organization.
We called it the Treaty 6 Justice Collective – an acknowledgement of the place where we live and our commitment to honour the treaty relationship that allows us to live here.
Turning the Tide found a new home just off (the other side) of Broadway! Together, Turning The Tide and Treaty 6 Justice Collective turned it into a place that houses the bookstore and provides space for organizations, community organizers, and concerned individuals to work for change.
We called the new space The Stand, a name that carries multiple meanings.
stand / n.
- a supportive framework. music or art stand.
- a gathering place where goods may be sold. books or ice cream stand
- a strongly expressed position. We take a stand on social and environmental justice.
- a group of trees in a prairie field. Spring melt and summer rains collect in low points on the land. Seeds find their way into these fertile spots and develop into thriving trees. With roots intertwined beneath the soil, each tree is made stronger by its neighbours. Together, they endure the violent winds that happen across the lands.