Completed Inquiries – Reports Released

01/03/2005

Cumberland House Cree Nation [Claim to IR 100A] – March 2005

The Cumberland Band, now known as the Cumberland House Cree Nation, signed an adhesion to Treaty 5 in 1876 and within two years requested reserve land close to Fort B la Corne, some 250 kilometres to the southwest, where the land was well suited to agriculture. The government was reluctant to agree to this as Fort B la Corne is within Treaty 6.

In 1882, the government surveyed and set aside 2,172 acres—known as IR 20—for the Cumberland Band at Cumberland. In 1885, however, the government consented to the Band’s request for land in the Fort B la Corne area and two townships were set aside for the "Indians of Cumberland". Indian Reserve (IR) 100A was surveyed in 1887 and confirmed by an Order-in-Council in 1889, "for the Indians of the Cumberland District (of Treaty No. 5)." Using the Treaty 6 formula of 640 acres per family of five, 44,160 acres of IR 100A were allocated for the 345 members of the Cumberland Band.

Before and after the Northwest Rebellion (1885), members of the Chakastaypasin Band at IR 98 were migrating to IR 100A. Although these Band members were never properly transferred into the Cumberland House Band, two of them signed a surrender for the lower portion of IR 100A (20,080 acres) in 1902. Chakastaypasin members were also involved in an agreement to amalgamate the remainder of IR 100A and the people living there with the James Smith Band at IR 100. The consent of the entire Cumberland House Band, those at both IR 20 and IR 100A, was never sought nor obtained.

The Cumberland House Cree Nation submitted a specific claim in 1986 alleging the unlawful taking of IR 100A lands. In 1997, Canada rejected the First Nation’s claim but did admit a lawful obligation for its failure to have ensured an equitable division of assets between what it believed to be the separate Cumberland Band that had evolved at IR 100A, and the original Cumberland Band at IR 20.

In February 2000, the First Nation requested that the Commission conduct an inquiry into its rejected claim regarding its interests in Cumberland IR 100A, knowing that the James Smith Cree Nation had also requested an inquiry into its claim for the same reserve. The Commission accepted both inquiries, and following discussions between both First Nations, decided to conduct a single, fact-finding process with respect to the history of IR 100A, while maintaining separate inquiries for each First Nation.

The Commission found that IR 100A was set aside for the Cumberland Band, and that a separate Band was not created at any point in time at IR 100A. The Cumberland Band that adhered to Treaty 5 resided at two locations: IR 20 and IR100A. Canada was required, under treaty, to seek and obtain the consent of the whole of the Cumberland Band to dispose of its interest in its reserve lands. On the evidence, no such consent was sought or obtained. Furthermore, Canada is in breach of its fiduciary duty for its failure to have protected the Cumberland Band’s interest in its reserve at IR 100A.

Based upon the findings of the panel, the Commission recommended that the Cumberland House Cree Nation’s claim regarding Indian Reserve 100A be accepted for negotiation under Canada’s Specific Claims Policy.

To download the news release

To download the report - PDF