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02/10/2003
ICC Issues Report on Mediation of Kahkewistahaw First Nation's Claim
Ottawa (February 10, 2003) - The Indian Claims Commission (ICC) today issued a report on the settlement of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation land claim. The report follows the Saskatchewan First Nation's ratification last November of a $94.6 million dollar settlement agreement that was reached through the hard work of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation, federal negotiators and the Indian Claims Commission.
In releasing the report, Chief Commissioner Phil Fontaine pointed out the value of the Commission's work in achieving a successful resolution of the 95-year-old claim.
"The mediation report being released today outlines the extensive role the ICC played in helping to settle this land claim. Not only did the Commission help to facilitate the process that allowed the First Nation and Canada to negotiate a final agreement, but at the request of the negotiating parties, we also acted as study coordinator for the loss-of-use studies that needed to be done. This included coordinating meetings with consultants and arranging for consultants to interview the First Nation's elders."
He added that the ICC's mediation service not only helps the parties to maintain focus and momentum in their negotiations, it can also serve as an objective and steadying influence at the table.
In 1907, more than 13,000 hectares of land from the southern part of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation's reserve was sold to settlers. In 1994, after the federal government had rejected its claim for negotiation, the First Nation asked the ICC to inquire into the circumstances that led to the loss of the land. In 1997, the ICC issued a report which found that the federal government had breached its legal obligation to the First Nation by having engaged in "tainted dealings" in obtaining the 1907 surrender.
The ICC was established in 1991. Its mandate is: to inquire, at the request of a First Nation, into specific claims that have been rejected by the federal government or where the First Nation disputes the compensation criteria being considered in negotiations; and to provide mediation services on consent of the parties at any stage of the claims process.
