News

2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992

07/03/1996

Indian Claims Commission Recommends Settlement of Treaty Land Entitlement Claim

Ottawa (March 7, 1996) - The Indian Claims Commission (ICC or the Commission) today released its Report on the Inquiry into the Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) Claim of the Kawacatoose First Nation. This claim is considered to be a TLE claim because the First Nation argued that they are legally entitled to more land than they have received under the terms of Treaty 4.

The Commission's Report concludes that Canada is in breach of its treaty obligation to provide "a certain amount of land based on the number of members, and each Treaty Indian is entitled to be included in an entitlement calculation as a member of an Indian band."

According to the formula contained in Treaty 4, Kawacatoose is entitled to 128 acres for each member of the band. At the time of survey in 1876, Kawacatoose received enough land for 212 people: 27,200 acres. The First Nation successfully argued that Treaty Indians who became members of Kawacatoose after the date of first survey (1876) give rise to an additional obligation for Canada to set aside more reserve land.

On this basis Canada owes a lawful obligation to the Kawacatoose First Nation to provide reserve land for 277 people, 65 more people than the 212 provided for in 1876.

The Band's claim centred on whether two families were members of the Kawacatoose Poor Man Band in 1876. Commission Co-Chair James Prentice and Commissioner Roger Augustine held that the two families were members of the Band. Explains Commissioner Augustine, "Deciding to include these families was difficult, but the decision was made easier by the compelling statements offered by elders from Kawacatoose. These claims can be very complex and Kawacatoose is no exception. But our discussions with elders and community members gave us insight into the historical background of this claim." Hearing from the First Nation community is part of the Commission's unique inquiry process. It is a process that recognizes and respects the oral tradition of a First Nation community and serves as an invaluable method of supplementing historical documents, over a century old.

Another key aspect of the claim by Kawacatoose First Nation was the influence of the 1992 Saskatchewan Framework Agreement. The Commission was unable to find that the Framework Agreement imposed a contractual obligation on Canada to accept Kawacatoose's claim for negotiation. The Commission Report concludes however, that once the claim of Kawacatoose is validated in accordance with the terms of Treaty 4, Canada must consider itself honour bound to extend the principles of the Framework Agreement to Kawacatoose.

The Commission has already made significant progress in attempting to define principles to assist in the settlement of TLE cases in Canada. Commission Co-Chair Dan Bellegarde explains, "We released our Report on the Inquiry into the TLE Claim of the Fort McKay First Nation in December. Many of our findings in that Report had a direct bearing on the validity of this claim. It is crucial that the Government of Canada work together with First Nations to settle these claims in a fair and timely manner."

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 backgrounder

To download the report PDF