The Kawacatoose First Nation has owned and operated the KFN Market and gas station in Moose Jaw, Sask. for six years. While it is well within city limits, the business could soon function as an urban reserve.
WATCH: Urban Reserves and the impact they can have on our economy
On Monday, Moose Jaw city council voted to approve an agreement that would turn the land that the KFN Market sits on into an urban reserve; a first for the city of over 30,000 people.
Since 1992, over one million acres of Saskatchewan land has been converted to First Nations reserves.
According to the Indigenous and Northern Affairs website, “reserve creation often stems from Canada’s legal obligation to settle and implement outstanding land claims.”
“The majority of urban reserves are created as a result of specific claim and Treaty Land Entitlement settlements, which provide First Nations with cash payments that may be used to purchase land.”
READ MORE: First Nation to build on urban reserve in downtown Saskatoon
As an urban reserve, the business would no longer pay property tax, but rather service charges that cover water, emergency services and garbage disposal.
Mayor of Moose Jaw Deb Higgins, welcomed the proposed transfer of land and said the KFN business has had a positive impact in the city.
“They’re part of the community and this is just one more step in the process,” Higgins said.
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While the Kawacatoose band office is two hours away in Raymore, Sask., the addition of land in Moose Jaw is an exciting prospect for the First Nation.
“Having an urban property gives us more of a chance to get more active opportunities,” Land manager, Jamie Medicine said.
The remoteness of many First Nations can make economic self-sufficiency difficult, but Saskatchewan has led the way in creating reserve-status land in cities.
Of just over 120 urban reserves in Canada, 51 are found in Saskatchewan.
University of Regina associate professor of education, Dr. Shauneen Pete, said urban reserves give First Nation businesses the chance to establish themselves and provide employment and training opportunities.
“About 50% of First Nations people live in urban centres,” she said.
“It’s an opportunity for the band to be able to purchase the land, create an economic development opportunity and to employ its own members and other First Nations people in the enterprise.”
While the process still needs to be finalized by the federal government, KFN Market in Moose Jaw could be the latest in a growing number of reserves well inside city limits.
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