Latest Updates

2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

12/02/2009

ICC Recommends Federal Government Accept for Negotiation the Claim of the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation regarding the Lejac School Inquiry

The Indian Claims Commission recommends the Government of Canada negotiate a settlement to the claim of the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, that 260 acres of reserve land were taken without compensation.

Nadleh Whut’en First Nation is located in north central British Columbia, about 100 kilometers west of Vanderhoof. In 1921, the federal government took control of half of the Band’s Indian Reserve Number Four (IR4) to establish the Lejac Residential School.

A panel of the ICC with Commissioner Daniel Bellegard as chairman, and Commissioner Alan Holman, member, issued their report today following an inquiry that began in 2002 when the ICC accepted the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation’s rejected claim for review. 

In the early 1900s, salmon stocks in the rivers of northern British Columbia were diminishing. Operators of a thriving salmon canning industry alleged that the reduction in the fish stocks was caused by the fish weirs, or barricades, the bands of the region had traditionally used to catch the salmon. During this same period, priests of the Roman Catholic Church were petitioning the government for funds to establish schools for the children of the First Nations living in the region. 

Beginning in 1906, the federal government signed a number of agreements with bands in northern British Columbia to stop using weirs to catch salmon in return for a list of conditions the government would implement, including the establishment of schools for First Nation children. 

In 1911, the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation signed the Fort Fraser Barricade agreement, and one of the terms of that agreement was "The Government will be required to locate, erect, maintain and operate a school within the Stuarts Lake Agency."

The Stuart Lake Agency was an administrative unit of the federal department of Indian Affairs responsible for Indian bands in north central British Columbia. When the barrier agreements were being negotiated, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), an order of the Roman Church, was seeking funding for schools in the region. 

In 1914, the OMI opened a day school and in 1917, a small residential school in the region, but they continued to press for a larger residential school. Their preferred location was the Seaspunkut Reserve IR4 of the Fort Fraser Band, which was what the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation was known as in those days.

In April 1921, the Indian agent obtained a Band Council Resolution setting aside 260 acres, half of IR4, for a school. In 1922, a residential school for 125 students opened. The land was occupied until 1976, when the school closed.

The ICC panel, after reviewing the facts, including oral testimony at a community session held at Nadleh Whut’en on November 22, 2007, found that the Crown had breached its fiduciary duties by allowing the 260 acres of the Seaspunkut Reserve, IR4, to be used for school purposes without any compensation to the First Nation. The fact there was a Band Council Resolution agreeing to the construction of the school on its lands is not sufficient to remove the Crown’s fiduciary obligations. Also, there is no evidence that the First Nation had been informed, that it knew the extent to which its land would be used; or that compensation would not be paid. Given this finding, the Panel concluded that the First Nation is entitled to compensation for the use of its land between 1922 and 1976, and it recommends that Canada negotiate with the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, under Canada’s Specific Claims Policy, for compensation for the loss of use of the land that was set aside for school purposes.

The ICC was established in 1991 to conduct inquiries, at the request of First Nations, into specific claims that have been rejected by the federal government, or where the First Nation disputes the compensation criteria being considered in negotiations. In addition, the ICC provides mediation services at the request of the parties for claims in negotiation.

By Order in Council, the Indian Claims Commission will formerly cease operations on March 31, 2009. This is one of the last reports that will be completed by the ICC.

To download report - PDF