Written in WORLD the
prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeauconfirmed a landmark land claims agreement with Siksika Indigenous First Nation and will pay 1.209 million euros ($1.3 billion) to help “correct a mistake of the past”, it is one of the largest transactions of its kind in Canada.
“Canada must stop using the word reconciliation. He will never reconcile, he will never do something complete, ”said the head of Siksika, Ouray Crowfoot.
Compensation for Indigenous Peoples in Canada Marks a Turning Point
Crowfoot said while the deal won’t make up for past mistakes, it will make a difference in people’s lives and provide opportunities they didn’t have before.
“We have come together today to correct a mistake of the past,” Trudeau said at the ceremony he attended with Crown and Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller.
Thus, the President underlined: “We are coming together to give each other the opportunity to start rebuilding trust between us, nation to nation”.
The Canadian government claimed that the agreement dated back more than a century, when Canada He broke his Blackfoot Treaty promise and took nearly half of the Siksika Nation’s reservation land, including some of its farmland, to sell to people who settled in the area.
How many hectares did they give to the natives?
The compensation was awarded due to outstanding land claims, which include some 46,500 hectares of the Siksika Reserve and certain mineral rights taken by Canada.
Crowfoot said some of the money will go towards addressing issues affecting its members. “We are working to recover police surveillance and records from boarding schools and mental health schools,” he said.
The website of siksika reported that each member of the nation will receive $20,000 in July as part of the deal with Canada.
