Indigenous land claims in Canada

Indigenous land claims in Canada are demands from indigenous peoples to have their land rights and their Aboriginal titles be respected by the authorities. They are one of the main issues facing indigenous peoples in Canada today.[1][2]

Indigenous peoples
in Canada

The Government of Canada started recognizing indigenous land claims in 1973. Federal policy divided the claims in two categories: comprehensive claims and specific claims. Comprehensive claims deal with indigenous rights of Métis, First Nations and Inuit communities that did not sign treaties with the Government of Canada. Specific claims, on the other hand, are filed by First Nations communities over Canada's breach of the Numbered Treaties, the Indian Act or any other agreement between the Crown and First Nations.[3]

Comprehensive claims
See also: British Columbia Treaty Process and Yukon Land Claims

Comprehensive claims are assertions of aboriginal title by Indigenous groups over their ancestral lands. Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements, also called modern treaties, first started being negotiated by the federal government in 1973 to gain the consent from Indigenous peoples for Canada to assert sovereignty over their unceded land.[1] Example of modern treaties include the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.[4][5] As of 2017, a total of 25 modern treaties have been signed,[6] and 140 Indigenous groups are in the process of negotiating a modern treaty with the federal government.[2]

Specific claims
Main article: Indigenous specific land claims in Canada

Specific claims are claims made by First Nations communities related to the administration of land and other First Nations assets by the Government of Canada, or breaches of treaty obligations or of any other agreements between First Nations and the Crown by the government of Canada. They can also involve mismanagement of Indigenous land or assets by the Crown under the Indian Act.[3] They are based on lawful obligations of the Crown toward the First Nations. First Nations cannot use aboriginal titles or punitive damages as the basis of their claims.[7]

The government of Canada typically resolves specific claims by negotiating a monetary compensation for the breach with the band government, and in exchange, they require the extinguishment of the First Nation's rights to the land in question.[8]

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See also

References
  1. Gretchen Albers (April 20, 2015). "Indigenous Land Claims". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  2. Austen, Ian (2017-11-12). "Vast Indigenous Land Claims in Canada Encompass Parliament Hill". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  3. Gretchen Albers (June 29, 2015). "Indigenous People: Specific Land Claims". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  4. Keith Crowe (July 11, 2019). "Comprehensive Land Claims: Modern Treaties". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  5. "Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act | Canada [1993]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  6. "Aboriginal title: What it means for Elsipogtog First Nation". CBC News. May 11, 2019.
  7. "Specific claims". Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. 2015-01-12. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  8. "SPECIFIC CLAIMS REVIEW: EXPERT BASED ‐ PEOPLES DRIVEN" (PDF). www.afn.ca. May 15, 2015. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
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