Next week Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation will find out the compensation they are owed from events stemming back to the Riel Resistance of 1885.
When the rebellion ended, the Government of Canada withheld treaty annuity payments to Beardy’s as well as 13 other First Nations in the province.
In May, the Specific Claims Tribunal ruled the band should have received their treaty payments during that time.
On April 11, 12 and 13 a compensation hearing will take place at Wanuskewin Heritage Centre to determine the dollar amount owed to Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation from these events.
Wednesday morning the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations threw their support behind the bands efforts.
“I would like to thank Beardy’s for taking the lead in this claim,” says FSIN vice-chief E. Dutch Lerat. “The federal government withheld funding from every man, woman and child on these First Nations and deemed them to be rebels.”
This compensation hearing could also shed light on what is owed to the other 13 First Nations affected during the time,” says Lerat.
The other bands include: Chakastaypasin, Little Pine, Lucky Man, Moosomin, Mosquito/ Grizzly Bear’s Head/Lead Man, Muskeg Lake, One Arrow, Onion Lake, Poundmaker, Red Pheasant, Sweetgrass, Thunderchild and Young Chipewayan.
After the resistance, the government also did not allow the Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation to have a chief and council until 1936.
“We were without chief and council for 48 years, now what opportunities did we lose during that time?” asked Beardy’s and Okemasis Chief Rick Gamble.
Chief Gamble says treaty rights continue to be the most important factor coming from this claims process.
“The validation of our claim reinforces treaties and treaty rights made between the Crown and First Nations,” says Chief Gamble. “These agreements are not merely simple promises, but rather they are binding treaties which are recognized not only in the courts, but also within administrative tribunals, such as this one.”
He says he doesn’t understand why the government continues to spend money to fight against treaty rights.
“100 years from now the treaties will still be around, so is this fight going to go on forever. So we need to ensure the treaties are on the agenda for the federal and provincial governments.”
The Beardy’s chief was unwilling to give an exact dollar figure of what they will be seeking during next week’s compensation hearing.
The initial claim put forward by Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation was $4.2 million.
“What I would like to see is a dollar figure that is similar to what Revenue Canada would receive when people don’t pay taxes,” says Chief Gamble.
“I am delighted that our claim was validated and I look forward to the long-awaited resolution to this claim.”
The Specific Claims Tribunal is composed of Superior Court Judges with the power to make decisions for specific claims.
The Beardy’s and Okemasis hearing is the first time the Specific Claims Tribunal will rule on compensation since the Specific Claims Tribunal Act came into law in 2008.