The Minister of Indigenous and Northern affairs, Carolyn Bennett was in Standoff, Alta. to sign a settlement recognizing a claim that dates back over 70 years Saturday.
During World War II, 55,000 acres of blood reserve land was leased to the Department of National Defense for use as a bombing and gunnery range.
The long awaited settlement honours an outstanding legal obligation owed to the Blood Tribe and includes $6.3 million dollars in financial compensation from the Federal Government.
Minister Bennett said this was an important step in advancing the reconciliation with First Nations communities in Canada.
“This is the way we will build recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership,” Minister Bennett said.
“I want to acknowledge the respect and cooperation we’ve had up to this point,” Charles Weasel Head,the Blood Tribe Chief, said. “I think it says a lot about this government wanting to settle past grievances and past wrongs.”
“Being able to get these claims dealt with in a negotiated way really speaks to what we want to do,” Minister Bennett said. “We want to get out of court, to negotiating tables and be able to resolve these historic wrongs.”
Chief Weasel Head said the settlement is a long time coming, “I think our people are very happy that we’ve finally settled this claim.”