Ottawa finally delivers on 100-year-old promise to First Nation in northern Canada
Members of the K’atl’odeeche First Nation (KFN) near Hay River, Northwest Territories, finally saw the Canadian government make good on a promise more than 100 years old.
On Tuesday, K’atl’odeeche Chief April Martel handed out cheques to community members representing a portion of the $28.3-million ‘cows and plows’ settlement stemming from unfulfilled Treaty 8 promises.
Treaty 8 was ratified by both the First Nation and the federal government in 1900, and contained a promise of “cows and plows” to First Nations that wanted to take up farming.
Cows and plows were never delivered, and the K’atl’odeeche First Nation agreed to the settlement in November 2017.
“Everyone’s excited,” said Martel. “Some of them bought new cars on Facebook. Some of them are paying off debt. Some of them are buying quads.”
Martel said the membership was pleased to move forward with the settlement, and receive their money.
Martel said the membership had previously elected to distribute $30,000 to each member. According to Statistics Canada, the First Nation has 649 registered members living on and off reserve, with an average total annual income of almost $32,000 [in 2016].
Some members received a portion of their settlement last Christmas, which was deducted from cheques distributed Tuesday.
The balance of the settlement will be invested in a trust fund to be used for education, infrastructure and sports programs.
Martel credited past council members and former chief Roy Fabian with doing the hard work of negotiating the settlement.
“He [Fabian] did a lot of work and we can’t thank him enough … for all the work he’s done for so many years.”
Based on an interview by Lawrence Nayally
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Land-claim talks: Dehcho First Nations, in Northern Canada, put land issues on backburner, CBC News
