(Photo: Gary Anandasangaree with leaders of Sturgeon Lake First Nation. Submitted by Tina Pelletier)
Minister Gary Anandasangaree was in Sturgeon Lake First Nation on Tuesday to partake in community celebrations after the First Nation settled their agricultural benefits claim in July.
More information on their claim can be found below.
“We’re here today, and it feels really good; it feels that we’re acknowledged as Sturgeon Lake members to have a minister come out; it’s not very often we have ministers come out to our communities, so today is a very special day,” said Sturgeon Lake First Nation Chief, Christine Longjohn.
The community will be receiving over $152 million dollars that will be allocated throughout the community in the coming weeks.
Anandasangaree stated he was also able to visit the community’s school.
“I was able to visit the school and the grade 12 Native Studies class. Really intrigued by the enthusiasm, a lot of them came out today. I spoke to a couple of them when we came out. So, always inspired that the work we do is about the next generations,” explained Anandasangaree.
Following his trip to Sturgeon Lake, Anandasangaree traveled north to meet with members and leadership of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band yesterday.
“It’s been great to join the leadership of the La Ronge Band right here in Grandmothers Bay. I came here with a very simple message: that past wrongs, past failures of the federal government, we have been working towards ensuring that those harms are addressed, and today I announced a settlement, what’s known as Cows and Plows,” he said in Grandmothers Bay.
In August, the Lac La Ronge Indian Band approved a $601.5 million-dollar agricultural benefits claim with the federal government. The vote was held on August 19-22, with 4,835 people voting in favour of accepting the settlement and 181 voting to reject it. More information on their settlement can be found below.
“There’s a lot more to do; this is an important step in the direction we need to go towards, which is towards reconciliation, but we know that there are still gaps that exist between First Nations and non-First Nations people,” he explained.
The minister will be in Buffalo River Dene Nation, Birch Narrows Dene Nation, and English River First Nation today before traveling west to Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta tomorrow.