Band ready to join with Treaty 4

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The Standing Buffalo First Nation is in the process of becoming the next band to sign the terms of Treaty 4.

The adhesion - an agreement to adhere to the terms of the 1874 treaty - will mean a new relationship between the 1,000-member Dakota band and the federal government, said Standing Buffalo Chief Mel Isnana.

"Our objective is, by September 2000, to be a part of the ceremonies of Treaty 4 - getting the annuities and having a full-fledged seat for round-table discussions about Treaty 4 issues," said Chief Isnana.

The major reason for the band to consider adhesion is economic, said the chief.

"One of the prime benefits for us is that we would be eligible for treaty land entitlements. We want to expand our land base. Right now our land base is very small compared to Treaty 4 First Nations," he said.

"We have, currently, close to 1,000 people for a population. We have a land base of 5,400 acres. A land base of 5.4 acres per person is very small," he added. "If we fell under the terms of treaty land entitlement, each individual person is guaranteed 120 acres a person. Without a land base, economic development won't be viable at all, let alone sustainable."

The process his band will follow to come under the terms of Treaty 4 involves a lot of historical research, from archaeological digs to studying agreements made almost two centuries ago.

Standing Buffalo's father signed a treaty, which was to provide a reserve for the Dakota people, with the United States government in 1851. However, war broke out between the Dakota and the United States Army in 1862, and the members of the Sioux nation fled north.

"In 1862 there was a massacre of our people in Minnesota, and Standing Buffalo led his people back to Canada," said Isnana. "The federal government has said to us that if we can prove that members of your band were here prior to the signing of Treaty 4, Ottawa will consider signing adhesion."

Southern Saskatchewan was the traditional hunting grounds for many different First Nations, including the Dakotas, said the chief.

"Our research and also what our Elders have told us in the past is that we did have some ties to the British many, many years ago, going back as far as 1812," he said.

In that year, the United States declared war on Great Britain and attempted to invade present day Ontario and Quebec. British and colonial officials made agreements with various First Nations in the Great Lakes region, mostly under the command of Tecumseh. First Nations warriors, colonial militiamen, and a small number of British army troops repelled the invasion and the war ended in 1814.

In the war of 1812, "the British did ask the Dakotas to ally with them. The Dakotas did that, and we have medals which prove our loyalty to Britain."

The federal government has provided some funding for Lakota and Dakota bands such as Standing Buffalo to research treaty adhesions.

"Part of our Sioux Nation, which includes the Assiniboine and the Stoney, have signed treaty or adhesion. We feel that we should be able to sign adhesion and be part of the treaty process."

Another piece of proof that southern Saskatchewan was part of the Dakotas' traditional hunting grounds came during an archaeological dig near Broadview last year.

"They buried a whole bunch of remains that were found by a farmer near Broadview, on the north side of the valley. The remains were dated back to the 1700s, and they were Dakota people," he said.

Much of the material found with the bodies was also common to the Dakota peoples, he added.

Chiefs from 13 First Nations across present-day southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Manitoba, along with representatives from the federal government, signed Treaty 4 in September, 1874 at Fort Qu'Appelle.

The Wood Mountain Dakota Nation is also considering adhesion to Treaty 4, said Isnana.

Currently 34 First Nations have agreed to terms with Treaty 4, either through the original signing in 1874 or through adhesions.

Two other Dakota bands in cetral Saskatchewan are considering adhesion to terms of Treaty 6, Isnana said.