STURGEON LAKE FIRST NATION, Sask. – Eleven years of treaty negotiations between a Saskatchewan First Nation and the federal government came to a close Tuesday.
At a ceremony on the Sturgeon Lake reserve, about 50 km northwest of Prince Albert, Sask., Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice presented close to $11 million in compensation to the band.
In 2004, the government admitted that it failed to negotiate an outstanding treaty land entitlement with the Sturgeon Lake First Nation, which entered Saskatchewan's Treaty 6 in 1876.
Treaty land entitlement claims are intended to settle land claims not covered by historical treaties.
Under the Sturgeon Lake settlement, the First Nation can purchase up to 156 sq km of land and convert it to reserve territory.
"(This) provides hope to our people that there is a spirit of continuity," said Sturgeon Lake Chief Wesley Daniels.
He said it will be the future generations at Sturgeon Lake that will benefit the most from the agreement.
"This settlement will bring economic benefits to the Sturgeon Lake First Nation and local communities, as well as providing certainty for government, industry and non-aboriginal Canadians," Prentice said in a statement.
The band held a ratification vote on the agreement in January. Ninety-two per cent of people who cast ballots voted in favour of it.