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ICC Panel Majority Recommends Canada Accept for Negotiation the Esketemc - November 2008
The Indian Claims Commission (ICC) has concluded its inquiry into Canada’s rejection of the Esketemc First Nation’s claim to Wright’s Meadow. The First Nation claimed that the meadow was illegally pre-empted in 1893 by a settler, and that Canada breached its fiduciary obligation by not protecting the First Nation’s interests in the meadow. Commissioners Bellegarde and Holman recommend that the claim of the Esketemc First Nation for the lands comprising Wright’s Meadow be accepted for negotiation. Commissioner Dickson-Gilmore recommends the claim not be accepted for negotiation. In 1861, 40 acres of land were set apart for use of the Esketemc First Nation within the area now known as Indian Reserve (IR) 1. Although the salmon fishery was once the main economy, the Esketemc First Nation had considerable success raising horses and cattle. In 1881, IR 1 was expanded and six additional reserves were set aside for the First Nation by Indian Reserve Commissioner Peter O’Reilly. At this time, O’Reilly reported that he had difficulty finding suitable agricultural land because settlers had occupied the best locations. The B.C. Lands Act of 1884 allowed a pre-emption of 320 acres for settlement, as long as the land was not an Indian settlement. In 1891 or 1892, the First Nation drained a lake that had been formed by a beaver dam creating a meadow with abundant haylands. This meadow, which is the subject of this inquiry, was pre-empted in 1893 by William Wright. A protest was launched by Chief August. This led to correspondence and discussion between Canada and British Columbia, on the status of Wright’s Meadow. In 1894, British Columbia concluded that the Band should receive the value of its improvements to the land, but the pre-emption would stand. In 1895, Indian Reserve Commissioner Peter O’Reilly allocated an additional seven reserves for the Band, but Wright’s Meadow was not among them. The panel found that the Alkali Lake Band (now Esketemc) had an interest in Wright’s Meadow land through historical use and occupation; and that Canada had a fiduciary duty to protect that interest on behalf of the Band. The panel agreed that the standard of the fiduciary was to act with loyalty, good faith, disclosure and prudence. Commissioners Bellegarde and Holman, in the majority, found that Canada breached its fiduciary duty by not protecting the meadow, which was clearly Indian settlement lands, from pre-emption and by not securing the land for the First Nation when it had the opportunity to do so. Commissioner Dickson-Gilmore found that Canada, constrained by the law of the time, met its fiduciary duty in its attempts to resolve the dispute in favour of the First Nations. In addition, Canada allocated seven reserves to the Band in 1895, with meadow lands to support the Band’s livestock industry. To download the report - PDF 
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