Saskatchewan's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 26
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SASKATCHEWAN’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
SIGA fosters belonging, independence and pride
C
heryl Kinequon
applied for a job at
the Dakota Dunes
Casino shortly after it
opened for business
18 years ago. She immediately fell
in love with the place. Owned
by the Saskatchewan Indian
Gaming Authority (SIGA), the
casino was fast-paced, alive with
music, entertainment and people
having fun. As a slot attendant, the
outgoing Kinequon got a chance
to meet people from all over
the world — a marked contrast
from her upbringing on the tiny
Day Star First Nation in central
Saskatchewan. “I really love
working with people,” she says. “I
love going to work.”
It’s always been
central to SIGA to
make sure we preserve
our identity.
— Zane Hansen
President and CEO
But her job at Dakota Dunes
Casino offered Kinequon something else that she hadn’t expected
— a chance to connect with her
First Nations heritage. Dakota
Dunes Casino is owned and
operated by SIGA, which operates
seven casinos, an online gaming
platform and a Central Office in
the Saskatchewan market. SIGA is
a provincial gaming operator on
behalf of its shareholders — the 74
First Nations in the province.
“If there are cultural things
happening with your band, they
give you time off,” says Kinequon.
Zane Hansen, president and CEO (right) at SIGA is photographed winning the 2024 Industry Leader of the Year
award.
“You can have Treaty Days and
band elections off. They even have
sweat lodges and other cultural
things like that.”
“At SIGA, First Nations culture
is celebrated and encouraged
throughout the year,” says
President and CEO Zane Hansen.
“We support cultural attire and
the observance of First Nation
days of significance. We sponsor
numerous cultural events such
as powwows and round dances
throughout the province. We have
elder counselling services for our
employees and other cultural
practices. It’s always been central
to the company to make sure we
preserve our identity that way.”
SIGA, as a non-profit
corporation, has a unique
revenue distribution model,
which reinvests all net revenue
back into Saskatchewan. Casino
net revenue is distributed — 50
per cent to the First Nations Trust
(which is distributed to the 74 First
Nations in the province), 25 per
cent to community development
corporations which reinvest the
money back into local community
initiatives, and 25 per cent to the
provincial general revenue fund.
“We very much operate like a
business and take a market-oriented view of the gaming industry,”
says Hansen. “We continue to develop our potential as a company
but we’ve really become a steward
of the resources that we manage
and develop through each casino,
and we turn the money over to our
many beneficiaries throughout
the year.”
SIGA was established with a
mandate to create employment
for First Nations people, generate
positive revenues for First
Nations, and partner on economic
development projects that benefit
its shareholders and communities.
Today, the workforce at SIGA’s
seven casinos is 65 per cent First
Nations, with another five per cent
identifying as Métis. Employees
are attracted by salaries and benefits that are among the best in the
North American gaming industry.
One of SIGA’s core guiding
principles is “pimâcihowin,” said
