Feds, BC Government Settle Treaty Claims With Five First Nations for $800M and 100,000 Acres Crown Land

Now Minister Immigration Marc Miller is seen at an announcement in Ottawa on Feb. 28, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

The federal government and the B.C. provincial government have settled treaty land claims with five First Nation groups in the province, saying that the Crown has owed the money for over a century.

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said at an April 15 press conference in Vancouver that Ottawa will provide $800 million as compensation under the settlement agreements.

The B.C. government said in a news release on the same day that the agreements resolve long-standing claims that these First Nations did not receive all of the lands owed to them under Treaty 8, which they signed in 1899.

For its part, the province will give five of the B.C. Treaty 8 Nations just under 110,000 acres, or 443 square kilometres, of Crown land in northeastern B.C. as part of the settlements. Those First Nations include Doig River, Halfway River, Saulteau, West Moberly, and Blueberry River.

The B.C. government said that, in a related agreement, the province of Alberta has also agreed to provide an amount of land to the Doig River First Nation in that province.

Treaty 8, which concluded with the June 21, 1899, signing by representatives of the Crown and various First Nations of the Lesser Slave Lake area, is one of the most comprehensive of the Numbered Treaties. It guarantees rights to several First Nations to maintain their indigenous way of life, and covers approximately 840,000 square kilometres across three provinces and the Northwest Territories.

“We’re here today to acknowledge the importance of those historical losses and to resolve land debt owed by the Crown,” Miller said.

The federal government said the money has been owed to the First Nations in historic land claims since a 1899 treaty. Miller, speaking at the press conference, with representatives from the five First Nations, B.C. Premier David Eby, and provincial and federal ministers of indigenous relations present, said it is not “free money.”

“By not upholding its obligations as a treaty partner, the promise made under Treaty 8 to provide land was broken. Because of the Crown’s failure, your communities received less reserve land than what was agreed by our nations when you signed the treaty with Canada,” Miller said.

The agreement is “critical to addressing past wrongs and advancing reconciliation in a way that respects the rights of First Nations and in a way that holds Canada accountable,” he added.

Eby said the settlement is a “huge milestone” on the “long road to reconciliation” with the Treaty 8 signatory First Nations.

“Honouring Treaty 8 is a key part of our work to advance reconciliation, reconciliation in the Peace River area, and reconnect these five Nations with their land,” the premier said.

“By settling these treaty land entitlement specific claims, we’re restoring the rightful amount of land that was promised under the treaty and all the benefits that should have flowed at the time to those Nations.”

At the press conference, Chief Darlene Hunter of the Halfway River First Nation said that “this settlement will benefit not only the current generation of Halfway members, but also the generations to come through the lands provided.”

She said community members will continue to practise their traditions and teach their culture to their youth.

“Halfway has also established a community trust so that the financial compensation provided under the settlement will be preserved and grown for the benefit of all community members,” Hunter added.

The B.C. government said negotiations had been underway since 2004.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.