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22/10/1998

Indian Claims Commission Releases Report on Inquiry into Manitoba Band's Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) Claim

Ottawa (October 22, 1998) - The Indian Claims Commission (ICC or the Commission) today released its Report on the Gambler's First Nation's treaty land entitlement (TLE) claim. A TLE claim involves an allegation by a First Nation that it did not receive all of the land to which it was entitled under the terms of a treaty entered into with Canada.

The Gambler's First Nation adhered to Treaty 4 on September 21, 1874, as part of a group of Saulteaux Indians referred to as the "Fort Ellice Band". During the treaty negotiations, O-ta-hao-man, or "The Gambler" was the main spokesperson for the Band, although the treaty indicates that the Band was led by Chief Waywayseecappo and included groups that were eventually recognized by Canada as separate bands. Under the terms of the treaty, Canada agreed to set aside reserves of one square mile for each family of five, or 128 acres per person. However, the treaty did not specify the time at which a band's population was to be calculated for the purposes of determining the area of reserve land to be set aside for its collective use; nor did the treaty specify the respective rights and obligations of factions within a band. In 1877 the reserve for Chief Waywayseecappo's Band was surveyed. In 1883, The Gambler and his followers in Waywayseecappo's Band sought and received recognition as a separate Band and a reserve was surveyed for them.

The central question in this inquiry was whether the First Nation's treaty land entitlement should be determined according to the population count of the Fort Ellice Band under Chief Waywayseecappo in 1877, as Canada maintains, or in 1883, when the survey was completed for the Gambler's reserve, as the First Nation contends. During the course of the inquiry, the Commission reviewed, in addition to extensive numerous written and oral submissions, some 700 pages of historical documents in addition to 11 other exhibits comprising several thousand pages of material. The Commission concluded that Waywayseecappo, the Gambler and their followers comprised a single band in 1877 that later split, with a portion of the original reserve surrendered in exchange for the new reserve set apart for the Gambler in 1883. However, the original survey had already been consented to and approved by the entire band in 1877. In the result, the First Nation failed to establish that its date of first survey was 1883, and its outstanding treaty land entitlement, if any, should be calculated based on an 1877 date of first survey. The Commission was not asked in this inquiry to determine the quantum of land to which the First Nation is entitled or whether an outstanding entitlement to land is still owed by the Crown today.

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.

To download the report PDF