Bands are welcome to acquire land in Saskatoon

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Indian bands across the province are continuing to look at Saskatoon as an attractive place to purchase land and establish urban reserves, says a senior planner with the city.

City planner Lorne Sully says the number of urban reserves within Saskatoon could easily double within the next few years.

The city is ready to negotiate with Native groups given its positive experience in the past, he adds.

"My sense is that we could see a substantial increase in the number of urban reserves over the next few years," Sully said during a recent discussion with geography students at the University of Saskatchewan.

"Our experience so far has been very positive . . . I believe we're going to work in the context of a partnership with the First Nations for a long time to come."

As it stands, Saskatoon has three urban reserve agreements and at least five others are in the works. Several other Indian bands are looking for land within the city limits and in neighboring municipalities.

In part, the interest in acquiring city land stems from a 1992 agreement in which 27 Indian bands received approximately $450 million from the provincial and federal governments.

That agreement, the 1992 Treaty Land Entitlement Agreement, was intended to help Indian bands purchase lands which were promised in earlier treaties with the federal government.

The Muskeg Lake Indian band was the first to establish an urban reserve in Saskatoon back in 1993.

Since then, several other bands have been looking for real estate in the city with hopes of eventually establishing urban reserves, Sully said.

The Yellow Quill First Nation, for example, owns a highrise tower in downtown Saskatoon and is currently negotiating to have that property designated an urban reserve.

The same goes for the Battlefords Tribal Council which owns property along the picturesque Spadina Crescent in downtown Saskatoon.

Last month, the English River band, based 300 km north of Meadow Lake, confirmed that it was looking to expand its land holdings in the city. English River already owns about one hectare of industrial land in the city.

English River chief Archie Campbell said the band is looking to acquire more residential and commercial property and would use revenues from the properties to address a housing shortage on its home reserve, north of Meadow Lake.

While Saskatoon's experience in dealing with Indian bands has been positive, other rural municipalities in the province have been hesitant to strike deals with Indian bands, primarily because municipal authorities fear a gradual erosion of their taxable land base.

At a meeting of rural municipal leaders in Regina last month, Sinclair Harrison, the president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, said the issue of tax erosion continues to be a very big issue for rural municipalities in the province.

In Saskatoon, Indian bands that have purchased commercial lands have generally negotiated grant payments that are paid to the city in lieu of property taxes and school taxes.

About 20,000 First Nations people are currently living in Saskatoon. That's equivalent to about 10 per cent of the city's total population.

As the native population continues to grow in Saskatchewan, more First Nation people will make their way to urban centres, where educational and employment opportunities are more plentiful, Sully said.