Map showing the territory ceded under Treaty No. 8, and the Indian tribes therein. Department of Indian Affairs, 1900.
A Fond du Lac advisor confirms the band has received a federal offer related to a Treaty 8 claim, and says the band is preparing a referendum where eligible voters will be asked whether or not they accept the offer.
The offer relates to a claim submitted in the early 2000s in relation to Treaty 8 agricultural benefits that the band says were not fitting for their region, said advisor Don Deranger.
He is staying silent on the dollar value of what’s being offered, but said if it’s approved through referendum then band membership will be asked what to do with the money once it’s distributed.
“I would say we would come back to the community and request for direction. The objective is once we receive it we want to go into investment opportunities so we can provide something to the community in future years” through business and employment opportunities that make Fond du Lac more self-sufficient, Deranger said.
Black Lake has also recently received an offer and is consulting with membership. Chiefs from both Fond du Lac and Black Lake have declined to comment further, with Black Lake’s chief saying it’s a community matter at this time.
Those two reserves, along with Clearwater River Dene Nation, are the only Saskatchewan reserves included in Treaty 8. Clearwater River leadership has written a letter to members saying it has contracted FSIN’s specific claims branch to file a claim, which was submitted to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) in mid-April. INAC has up to three years to decide whether it will accept the claim for negotiation.
This isn’t the first letter of offer Fond du Lac has received, Deranger said. An earlier offer was made in 2016 based on outdated population numbers from 2010, but the band “requested that we will accept the offer only with the current population,” he said.
Deranger said the federal government responded with a higher offer based on population number forecasts for 2018.
“We were satisfied with that,” he said.
Referendum planning includes preparing mailout packages, and Deranger asked urban members to let the band know their current contact information.
People will have 45 days to review the information, and there will be advanced polls in La Ronge, Prince Albert and Saskatoon and a June 30 poll on Fond du Lac, Deranger said. Also, those living out of province will be able to mail in their ballots, he said.
He said there are 18 First Nations within the Treaty 8 area across western Canada that have been given letters of offer related to agricultural benefits.
Deranger said Fond Du Lac pursued the claim under a treaty clause that allows for negotiations with the federal government that keeps things out of the courts.