In 1906, officials of the Canadian government, set about to persuade the
Pasqua Band to surrender a large portion of their treaty guaranteed reserve
so that the land could be made available to a "better class of men," in the
words of the Canadian Minister of Indian Affairs, Frank Oliver. His
officials succeeded in inducing the Pasqua Band to part with 16,077 acres of
their best agricultural land. As a direct result of that surrender, today
their remaining reserve is so small that over 800 ot the Band's 1337 members
cannot live on their reserve with their families.
The "better class of men," for whose benefit the government officials were
supposedly acting, were white settlers who were being encouraged to emigrate
to Saskatchewan to farm. Instead, it turned out that the great bulk of the
land was purchased by land speculators, the most prominent of whom was the
Crown's principal representative in Saskatchewan, the Lieutenant-Governor,
the Honourable E.M. Forget.
With that introduction, here is the text of the Media Release which the
Pasqua First Nation issued on September 1, 1995:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 1995
PASQUA FIRST NATION SEEKS RETURN OF 16,000 ACRES
Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan -- The Pasqua Band seeks the return of 16,077
acres of the land set aside for it under the terms of a treaty negotiated
with the Crown in 1874. During those negotiations, the Crown promised Band
members that this land would be their home and that no one would take it
from them "as long as the sun shines above and the water flows in the
ocean." This promise was broken.
At the time of the treaty, the Crown also promised that it would "never
advise [the Band] badly" and "never whisper bad words in [its] ear." This
promise, too, was broken. In 1906, Frank Oliver, the Indian Affairs
Minister, instructed his officials to "induce" the Band to surrender its
land, ostensibly to facilitate non-Indian settlement. At this time, the
land was being actively farmed by Band members, whose prosperity was
acknowledged even by Indian Affairs officials, but this did not matter.
Frank Oliver did not like Indians. He thought they had too much land and
that their reserves were a "hindrance to settlement." As a consequence, he
formulated a policy for the aggressive promotion of surrenders of Indian
land. In the case of the Pasqua Band, he instructed his officials to
actively campaign for a surrender. When Band members refused to agree, he
did not take "no" for an answer. He told his officials to return the
reserve. This time they used threats and coercion, and piled money in front
of Band members before they voted. According to these officials, the
surrender carried.
The Band says that these actions were reprehensible and were a breach of the
duty owed by the Crown to the Band.
The land was sold on easy terms to speculators, contrary to Federal Indian
Land Sale regulations. The Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan bought some
of the land. So did his secretary. The principal of the Regina Indian
Industrial School bought some of the land. So did the school's accountant.
An Indian Affairs farm instructor bought land. The local Indian agent
bought land. So did his wife's brother-in-law. (In fact, his wife's
brother-in-law bought roughly half of the land and lived with the agent
while he tried to sell. Department officials in Ottawa sent him letters
"c/o Indian Agency, Edgely, Saskatchewan.")
The Band says that these actions, too, were a breach of the duty owed by the
Crown to the Band.
Purchasers were expecting that the planned construction of a branch of the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway would allow them to flip the lands for a quick
profit. Railway construction was delayed, however, and nearly all the
purchasers defaulted on their payments. When this happened, Crown officials
did not return to the Band to ask what they wished to be done with the land.
The Band says that this was also a breach of the duty owed by the Crown to
the Band.
Indian Affairs officials allowed the overdue accounts to accumulate,
sometimes for decades. The purchasers appreciated this. They candidly
admitted to officials in Ottawa that it was much cheaper borrowing money
from Indian Affairs than it was from chartered banks. In effect, without
its knowledge or consent, the Pasqua Band was forced to subsidize
speculation in the lands taken from it in breach of treaty.
The Band says that these actions, too, were a breach of the duty owed by the
Crown to the Band.
For further information, please contact:
Chief Todd Piegan (Telephone: (306)332-5697
-30-
The Pasqua Claim is being presented for resolution under the Specific Claims
process of the Department of Northern and Indian Affairs, Canada. If not
satisfactorily resolved the Band will have the ability to seek review by the
Indian Claims Commission or to proceed with litigation in Court.
Please send messages of support to the Pasqua First Nation to me, and I will
forward them to the Band. Thank you.
Lewis F. Harvey
lewish@Direct.Ca