Moosomin First Nation celebrates

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The Moosomin First Nation held a traditional ceremony Sept. 1, celebrating their meeting of the minimum requirements for land purchase under the Saskatchewan Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) Framework Agreement.

The First Nation community, located 75 km north of North Battleford in northwestern Saskatchewan, is the fourteenth in the province to reach its minimum shortfall acquisition requirement.

The TLE Framework Agreement was created to address a land debt incurred by the participating First Nations, to increase their land bases to the sizes they are entitled to under Treaties 4, 6 and 10.

Mae Gladue is TLE shortfall coordinator with the Moosomin First Nation. Gladue explained the TLE Framework Agreement was devised as a means for the government to live up to its treaty commitments.

"On treaty commitment, we were allotted 128 acres per capita basis, and we were short 24,960 acres, which was made good on the shortfall celebration," Gladue said.

Under the agreement, signed in 1993, the Moosomin First Nation has purchased and set aside an entitlement reserve comprised of just under 25,000 acres, or about 10,000 hectares in size. The land will be used for agricultural purposes, with long-term plans to include food processing, cattle ranching and outfitting business ventures on the land. Funding for the purchase of the land was provided by the province and the federal government. The Moosomin First Nation received just under $20 million for purchase of the land.

Gladue said about 60 per cent of the land included in the new shortfall acquisition is already being used for agricultural purposes, with the remaining portion being developed for agriculture and for cattle ranching.

This is the second TLE reserve creation for the band, with the first coming in 1997. Prior to that TLE reserve creation, the Moosomin First Nation's reserve lands consisted of 14,760 acres.

Twenty-eight First Nations across the province are signatories in the TLE, with $516 million earmarked for land purchases.