First Nation sues feds, saying they were ripped off in land claim settlement

By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer An Indigenous band in BC wants a 2002 land claim settlement overturned and is demanding $150 million in compensation from the federal government. Central to the dispute is the Tsimpsean Indian Reserve No. 2, historically shared between the Lax Kwa­laams and the neighbouring Metlakatla Nation. According to the statement of claim, government officials unlawfully divided the reserve in 1888, granting approximately 47,000 acres of its southern portion exclusively to the Metlakatla — without the consent of the Lax Kwa­laams. “Our people have lived in the Prince Rupert area since time immemorial,” Garry Reece, mayor of the Lax Kwa­laams, stated Monday in a press release announcing the band has filed a court challenge. “Canada’s actions in the late 19th and early…

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