Excluding some Salt River members from payments ‘is unreasonable’ – Cabin Radio

May 19, 2023

Salt River First Nation’s policy of excluding some members from annual payments is “unreasonable” and must be reviewed, a federal judge has ruled.

A 2021 band council resolution had declared that treaty payments of $800 would be paid only to people who were members as of 2002 and their descendants, not anyone who became a member at a later date.

The year 2002 is important as Salt River’s 2001 treaty settlement agreement with Canada set compensation based on the First Nation’s June 2002 population.

The 2021 exclusion affected dozens of people whose Indian status – and membership eligibility – had changed since 2002, through intervening amendments to the Indian Act and other legislation. For example, some recent changes have extended Indian status to grandchildren of Indigenous women who married non-Indigenous men.

Read More: https://cabinradio.ca/129931/news/south-slave/fort-smith/excluding-some-salt-river-members-from-payments-is-unreasonable/