Garden River adds land, resources

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The Garden River First Nation will add another 9,200 hectares of land to its reserve.

The announcement was made and the deed was done by Indian Affairs minister Ron Irwin when he signed two specific agreements on Aug. 12.

In both agreements, Garden River will retain all mineral rights on all transferred land.

It's been a complicated negotiation, said Hubert Ryan, Federal Negotiator for Lands and Trust Services. He said it's taken about six years to come to the final agreement.

Complicating the matter is a highway that runs right through the new lands, Ryan said. Approximately 2,800 hectares of land was transferred to the reserve to compensate for the highway.

The interests of non-Indian residents who own and occupy some of the lands was also a consideration, said Ryan.

The history of the land dates back to 1859 when the Garden River band signed the Pennefather Treaty, surrendering 39,600 hectares for sale by the colonial government.

Approximately 8,800 hectares of the land was never sold and title transferred to the provincial government, a clause in the treaty the government of the day considers not morally correct, said Ryan.

In 1926, the government went to court to correct this clause, but added a stipulation that any mineral profits from the land would be split 50-50 between the band and the province.

In these more recent agreements, the government has transferred 100 per cent of the mineral rights to the reserve.

But what the band may find to be more of a resource is what can be found above ground. The area is rich with timber and under the agreement, it now all belongs to Garden River.