Millions of dollars hang in the balance of a Saturday vote on the Fishing Lake First Nation.
Band members will decide whether or not to change the band’s trust agreement, which regulates spending on a multi-million dollar specific land claim.
Chief Derek Sunshine would not say what the original $34.5 million settlement from the 1907 claim is valued at currently.
But he says the band is currently in need of money.
“We need the money for ec(onomic) dev(elopment), helping members, band members, to do programming wherever they are, if they’re in different provinces we’ll be able to help them in certain ways. In the community also, we never seem to have enough funding to operate our First Nation,” Sunshine said.
Chief Derek Sunshine says the current trust agreement served its purpose but over time it’s become difficult to access funds.
“At the end of the day if it’s ‘no’ vote we’ll continue on as it is, and if it’s a vote for change in our trust agreements it’ll give the First Nation more dollars to work with.”
Sunshine says the vote was moved from the band hall to the band office starting at 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In 2001, the Fishing Lake band membership ratified a $34.5 million settlement from a 1907 specific land claim.
Fishing Lake is about 150 kilometers north of Regina.