Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the Siksika First Nation east of Calgary Thursday for an historic signing ceremony that ended a decades old land claim with a cheque for $1.3 billion.Trudeau and Marc Miller, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, addressed a large crowd of Siksika Blackfoot First Nation members and their elders. The ceremony began with Trudeau giving a speech flanked by First Nation chiefs and council. Trudeau spoke of the history of the Blackfoot Plains.."We're gathered to give ourselves a chance to start rebuilding trust between us — nation-to-nation — and we're doing it here in a significant place. It was here on Blackfoot Treaty Flats the Treaty Seven was signed in 1877 by the first chief. When he spoke at the time, the chief said that the Blackfoot people are the children of the plains, and the plains are your home."."As we all know, during the 1910 Surrender and subsequent actions, the government acted dishonourably, including by taking more than ... 115,000 acres of your most productive agricultural and mineral rich lands for the benefits of others," Trudeau said..The settlement includes various land claims and comes with a one-time payment of $1.3 billion. The historic payment comes with no strings attached to be spent as indigenous leaders see fit. It is anticipated that the compensation will encompass a $20,000-per-member payout to Nation members..This resolves one of the longest running land claims in Canadian history. The land claim has been ongoing for over six decades..A notice was posted on the indigenous nation’s website inviting its members to the event announcing the signing ceremony for the 1910 Global Settlement Agreement..Miller addressed attendees in the Blackfoot language for several minutes. His effort was welcomed with good-humoured smiles and nods from chiefs standing nearby. After concluding in Blackfoot, Miller continued in English by saying, "I hope I can do a better job in English."."The history is well-known to you, but not to many Canadians. It's important that we speak the truth about the disparities that separate indigenous peoples and non-indigenous peoples. ... This 1910 claim, as mentioned by the prime minister, was one of the largest ever known in Canada. Your community has waited over 112 years for Canada to address this historic injustice. And today we're celebrating the signings of a wonderful culture," Miller said..Chief Ouray Crowfoot, Siksika Nation leader, spoke passionately and did not mince his words as he talked about the historic settlement.."Trudeau knows that it's not about politics, today you're the head chief of Canada, I'm the head chief of Siksika, so I want you to feel comfortable here. It's not about what party you are. That's [for] another day."."I mentioned to the prime minister earlier, Canada needs to stop using the word 'reconciliation'. You will never reconcile. You will never make this land whole [again.] One-point-three billion dollars, that's a lot of money [but] it will never make it whole — what it was before. But we got to move forward," Crowfoot said..After negotiators reached an agreement following the conclusion of the discussions, a referendum was held in the Siksika Nation December 2021. There were just over 5000 members eligible to vote and when ballots were cast, 77% of those who voted did so in favour of arranging the signing ceremony..The settlement also includes an option for a very large land purchase — up to about 46,000 hectares (115,000 acres) of land that can be purchased and added to the First Nations reserve lands anywhere in the province of Alberta. That approximately equals the area of land that was unlawfully surrendered by the First Nations in the last century. The land was sequestered by the Canadian Pacific Railway..It included at the time prime farmland resources and also some of their sacred sites..Canada acknowledges the process of taking that land was a corrupt one and that the government agents of the day used pressure tactics that were not reasonable or fair. The needs and the desires of the prairie settlers were prioritized over of the rights of the indigenous people.
