ASSINGBOINE FIRST NATION, Sask.-More than a century ago the Mosquito Grizzly Bears Head Leanman First Nation in Saskatchewan lost land. And after a 24-year trial the government of Canada has made an offer.
The federal government is now offering the community, located 156 kms northwest of Saskatoon, $127 million for the 5,800 hectares of land they confiscated in 1905.
The case has been in the courts since 1996, with the government's last denial of compensation in 2014. Finally in 2017, the government agreed there was cause for the case.
In 2020 the federal government offered the community more than $127 million on the condition they voted to surrender the land. The tribe refused, instead, taking the case to the specific claims tribunal.
In January the Tribunal Judge Harry Slade decided on a $127 million dollar settlement with no surrendering of the land, an offer Chief Tanya Aguilar-Antiman says they have 30 days to decide on, but are feeling positive about.
The community has approximately 1,500 members, half who live on-reserve and are known as a Nakoda Nation. The money would be used for economic development and future generations.
Slade's decision Monday is below the maximum the tribunal can award, which is capped at $150 million.
In a case ongoing since 1996, a tribe is awarded for land taken in 1905.
