Province reaches agreement with Lubicon First Nation
Posted Nov 13, 2018 12:16 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
(LITTLE BUFFALO) – A ceremony in northern Alberta is marking the end to a decades-long fight for recognition that attracted international attention to the poverty of the Lubicon Lake First Nation.
The Lubicon were missed in treaty negotiations in the late 1800s and fought for four decades for a land settlement that would bring much-needed housing, better education and health care.
Chief Billy-Joe Laboucan said it’s fitting the signing ceremony is being held in the old school, because the land claim will have a positive impact on current students and on generations to come.
The Lubicon gained a global stage when they held a protest at the
Calgary Olympics in 1988 and blockaded roads into the disputed area.
A United Nations committee and Amnesty International criticized Canada for its treatment of the First Nation.
Carolyn Bennett, federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, says no agreement can right the wrongs the Lubicon faced, but it’s important to make amends.
The deal between Ottawa, Alberta and the First Nation includes about 245 square kilometres of land and $113 million to rebuild the community of Little Buffalo.
