(submitted photo/Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc.)

By Angela Brown

Land claim settled

MGBHLM First Nation awarded $127 million in historic land claim settlement

Jan 22, 2021 | 5:49 PM

The Specific Claims Tribunal Canada announced this week Mosquito, Grizzly Bear’s Head, Lean Man First Nation (MGBHLM) would be awarded close to $127 million from the federal government for a land claim settlement for loss of its land dating back to 1905.

The report overview indicated in 1905 the federal government took 14,670-acres of land, about two-thirds of the reserve.

In 2017, the federal government admitted it breached its pre-surrender fiduciary obligation to the claimant, MGBHLM, which rendered the 1905 loss of lands invalid.

The First Nation will be awarded $15,500,000, (effective Sept. 21, 2017) for the current market value of the land, and $111,433,972 (to Dec. 31, 2019) for the value of the loss of use of the land, for a total compensation of $126,933,972.

“The evidence introduced in the compensation phase of the proceeding reveals that the Crown took a surrender vote in contravention of the statutory requirement that permitted only members of the Grizzly Bear’s Head and Lean Man Bands to vote, and later accepted and acted on the surrender. This was, from the outset, a breach of the duty of ordinary prudence,” the tribunal stated in its decision.

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MGBHLM Chief Tanya Aguilar-Antiman said the process started about 30 years ago when a submission on the land claim was made by MGBHLM’s membership.

She said it was turned down by the federal government. It later went through the mediation process, and then moved through the tribunal process.

“It’s a very complex process, and we waited right to the end,” Aguilar-Antiman said. “Judge [Harry] Slade made a decision, and the bottom line is we know there is certainty now.”

She said the resolution is also a step toward reconciliation.

“We have an opportunity to really build some relations,” Aguilar-Antiman said.

She said MGBHLM turned down two offers from the federal government last year related to the case, with a condition the First Nation voluntarily surrender the land collectively. Aguilar-Antiman said the MGBHLM leaders would not ask their members to vote on such a request.

“Historically, we always knew, and through the oral history and all the literature, it shows that we did not surrender the land,” she said.

MGBHLM opted for a settlement through the tribunal instead.

The First Nation will now spend a few days deciding whether to accept the tribunal’s offer.

Aguilar-Antiman said the First Nation had expectations it might receive the maximum compensation of $150 million through the tribunal process, as it had a very strong case.

However, as everything takes time, many of the band’s elderly members who were instrumental in initiating the claim are no longer living.

“We only have a handful of elders that are still with us,” Aguilar-Antiman said. “So we recognize that, as well, as leaders, [and] what this means moving forward.”

“I really don’t think our old people can afford the time,” she said. “We want them to benefit just as much as every single family in our nation.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW