Natural resources will be front and centre during a major conference in Prince Albert next week.
The Prince Albert Grand Council is hosting a summit where leaders from First Nations in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta are expected to attend.
At issue is the desire for First Nations to break out from under the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement of 1930.
That is when the federal government transferred mineral and resource rights to the provinces, but failed to include First Nations in the deal.
Don Deranger is a vice-chief with the PAGC.
Deranger says during a similar gathering last year, bands from the three provinces began formulating ideas on how to get the government to come to the table to discuss the issue.
He admits it’s frustrating, because First Nations communities are not sharing equally in the wealth generated from uranium, oil and gas, and hydro — but he stresses they are hoping to settle the matter outside of the courts:
“This year, we’re going to discuss more about what the finalized plan would look at. We would like to stay away from litigation, if we can. We can do that as a last resort, but we didn’t have to go to court when we signed treaties.”
Meantime, vice-chief Brian Hardlotte says First Nations also want development to be done in a responsible manner.
The summit begins on Tuesday and runs until Thursday.
It’s being held at the Senator Allen Bird Memorial Centre.