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THE HARPER GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES 18 NEW ENTRANTS TO FIRST NATIONS LAND MANAGEMENT REGIME

LABRC and Minister

From Left to right: Chief Austin Bear, Chair of First Nations Land Management Resource Centre, elected LAB Director Saskatchewan, Chief Robert Louie, Chair of Lands Advisory Board, The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Jody Wilson Raybould, Vice-Chief AFN, BC, and LAB BC Region Director, Chief Gordon Planes, Chief of T'Souke and elected LAB BC region Director, JP Gladu, Senior Advisor to Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek

Ottawa, Ontario (January 23, 2012) – The Harper Government announced that eighteen more First Nations will soon begin a process to opt out of the 34 land-related sections of the Indian Act and assume control over their reserve land and resources. The announcement was made today by the Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Chief Robert Louie, Chair of the First Nations Lands Advisory Board (LAB) and Chief Austin Bear, Chair of the First Nations Land Management Resource Centre Inc.

To read more on this story please Click Here

Chief Louie

Lands Advisory Board (LAB)

Please Click Here to view Chief Robert Louie’s Presentation at the World Indigenous Business Forum. October 4, 2011 New York, NY

Please Click Here to view a video of the presentation to the Senate made by the Lands Advisory Board.

Please note: the meeting starts at the 7:25 minute mark.

Click here to learn more about the LAB and how it is composed!

NOW ON LINE!

Click here to view the informational video on the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management titled "Taking Back Control of Our Reserve Lands & Resources".

Nipissing First Nation

Early NBiising

Archaeological studies indicate that the Lake Nipissing and its environs have been occupied for at least 9,600 years. At the time of European contact at the beginning of the 17th century, the people called themselves Nipissing or NBiising, after the lake that is located at the centre of their traditional territory. The word NBiising means “little water’ and is probably a comparison to the larger Great Lakes to the west and south. The present day Nipissing people are of Nipissing, Ojibway and Algonquin descent.

The NBiising Trader

The pre-contact Nipissing trader controlled trade routes in four directions, as far west as Lake Nipigon, north to Hudson Bay, south into Huron Territory and as far east as present day Quebec City. The Nipissing were a prosperous people into the early 1800’s. This prosperity came to an end with the ever increasing number of competing European fur trappers who gradually took over the fur trade. This takeover ultimately resulted in the lucrative and once bountiful territory being over burdened and over harvested.

Robinson Huron Treaty

In 1850, the Nipissing became signatories of the Robinson Huron Treaty. Chief Shabokeshick and his Head Men, Penassy and O’Jeek were recorded in that Treaty as the Chief and the Principal men of their Nation. The Treaty was signed to preserve their way of life and command the northern shore of Lake Nipissing and its main waterways.

Surveys

Nipissing Reserve was surveyed in 1882 after the death of Chief Shabokeshick. The survey set in place a land base of 89,400 acres, but did not conform to the Treaty description of the land base described by the Treaty or the survey notes made in 1853, which described a “very large tract of land” requested by Shabokeshick.

To complicate compliance to the Treaty further, the survey was set out in measurements conforming to the English mile. The Nipissing were historically a Nation who utilized French as a second language. The use of French as a second language continued into the mid 1900’s. The Nipissing people at the time of the Treaty signing would only have understood the French league as a distance measurement and not the surveyor’s utilization of the English mile. It should also be noted that the use of the English mile set out a smaller tract of land for the Nipissing People that was more beneficial to the European resource users.

Land Repatriation

Today, the Reserve is approximately 30 kilometers wide in an east west direction along the northern shore of Lake Nipissing. The Nipissing land base is approximately 14,962 acres (6,054.90 hectares) in size.

Tri-partite negotiations with the federal and provincial authorities have culminated in a Specific Agreement signed in 1994. The Province of Ontario in April of 2004 passed an Order in Council which returns 33,000 acres (13,354.62 hectares) of unsold surrendered land to Canada for eventual return to the Nipissing land base by a reciprocal federal Order in Council. These lands are being added to Nipissing in accordance with INAC’s Additions to Reserve policy.

Nipissing Nation has also pursued enlarging its land base by purchasing former treaty lands increasing the land base by another 4,711 acres ( 1,906.47 hectares).

Nipissing in the spring of 2005 signed transfer documents to end the process to repatriate CN lands to its land base. This process will add another 320 acres (129.49 hectares) of land. CN has been a responsible corporate citizen and Nipissing appreciates the recognition by this corporation to return these lands to their former ownership.

The Nipissing land base, after repatriation efforts of the unsold and former railway lands will increase Nipissing to 59.5% of its former size as described in accordance with the 1880 survey.

New Land Management Legislation

Beginning in 1987, the Nipissing Nation, one of 14 Nations from across Canada who were “granted” land management delegation began meeting to discuss problems associated with these delegations. As a result of these early meetings, all 14 participating Nations detailed the same problems associated with this type of authority delegation. In 1989, the 14 Nations from across Canada began to actively pursue new land management legislation. With a team made up of the Chiefs, Land Managers and hired technicians, with the primary goal of regaining control over land and resources. The initiative to develop new land legislation was proposed by the participating 14 Nations to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

On February 12, 1996, 14 Nations from across Canada signed the Framework Agreements with the Minister of Indian Affairs. This document was a government to government arrangement re-establishing the management of reserve lands under a Nation’s authority outside the Indian Act. The Framework Agreement set in place provisions for assuming direct Nation control over their lands and resources by enacting individual Land Management Codes under the proposed New Land Management Act.

This successful alliance culminated with the June 2003 plebiscite by the Nipissing people that approved and enacted the Nipissing Land Code. The code sets out processes for the enactment of land laws. To date, the Nipissing Land Law Development Committee has drafted and enacted the Nipissing Enactment Law, Matrimonial Property Law, Shoreline Regulations and Permit, an ATV Recreational Vehicle Law and Grants of Entitlement Law. Commercial and industrial lease, a quarry lease, blasting regulations, land use permit, environmental and biological recognizance reporting forms, and the Nipissing Residential Lease, have been developed and adopted for use. The residential lease was developed by an ad hoc committee comprised of Councillors, Nipissing Land Staff and Lessees. The lease retired Canada representation on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen on lease agreements at Nipissing. This lease provides for the much needed mortgage capability not provided under Canada’s lease. This is the first lease developed in a direct relationship between the rightful owners of the land and its clientele.

The LU Committee is set to review the draft forms for the Zoning Law, Business Licensing Law, commercial industrial land use regulations, residency, archaeological management plan and environmental management plan. Up for debate in the coming year is the issue of permitting ‘mechanics liens’ against improvements.

Since 2003, economic development opportunities have opened the doors for improving the relationship between Chief and Council, the Membership of Nipissing and Nation Member businesses. While the success cannot be attributed as a direct cause of the Land Management Act as these lands are located in the unsold surrendered lands of Nipissing, thereby, not under the Land Management Act, the same leases and permits provided on Nipissing Reserve are provided there.

However, almost all these businesses do not reap any ‘registration of documents’ that may assist the business in attaining grant, and or mortgages for capitalization or operation. Neither does Canada provide dollars for the management of these businesses on those lands as there is no accountability through registration of these land allotments. However, Nipissing’s development strategies are utilized on all Nipissing lands. Therefore it can be said that these commercial industrial opportunities have had some impact from better land management structures and controls. These businesses have developed infrastructure for their businesses and can be said to contribute to the overall well-being of the Nipissing people.

Nipissing Land Office developed a survey that was circulated in the Spring of 2010 to these 35 businesses located within Nipissing lands. Forty percent (40% ) of the businesses answered the survey. The response to the commercial industrial survey provided some data on employment. The information received back from the respondents, revealed that these businesses employ 155 individuals. Jobs were provided for 43 Nipissing Nation members, 63 native people from other Nations and 49 non-native people. The salaries or wages costs reported at a little under $6.6 million dollars, and averaged at $42,808.00 per employee. From these numbers we may estimate that the other 60% of the businesses may provide an additional 231 jobs at an estimated additional salary or wage cost of $9.9 million. A estimated total or 386 jobs provided through these businesses and a estimated value of $16.5 million dollars into the local economy for employment.

Other areas covered by the questionnaire attempted to capture infrastructure costs, capital and improvement investments, emergency, services and fire protection information. It is the intent of Nipissing Land Office to attempt an annual survey to provide this type of data for the Membership of Nipissing as well as to show the contribution of the businesses in providing employment.