First Nation prepares for historic 1886 Rebellion compensation ruling
The Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation will soon know how much money the federal government owes them for wrongfully labeling the band rebels and denying them funding following the 1885 Northeast Rebellion.
Starting on Monday, a Specific Claims Tribunal will hold three days of public hearings at the Wanuskewin Heritage Centre in Saskatoon to decide how much the First Nation should be compensated after the two parties failed to reach an agreement.
Last May, the tribunal ruled Ottawa erred when following the rebellion – also known as the Riel Resistance – it labeled 14 Saskatchewan First Nations as rebels, refused to give them treaty annuities and confiscated items such as guns, ammunition, livestock, and wagons. They also imposed a pass system restricting the people from leaving the reserve without government permission and prevented them from having a chief and council until 1936.
“I’m so damn glad that we got this adjudicator rule in our favour,” chief Rick Gamble said. “We can look forward to a more comprehensive process by which federal government will maybe sit down with the first nations in this country and address treaties through a round table.”