| 2008-August-11 GENERAL MEETING NOTES Community Meeting(???????????????) on Land Claim concerning the alleged surrender of Tobique Lands in 1892. Please note that the following are my general meeting notes of the above session that took place at the Tobique Bingo Hall. These notes are offered without prejudice and malice. Should you have any questions about the meeting, I can be reached at wendallnicholas@gmail.com or on my cell at (506) 273-0604 A. BACKGROUND NOTES ON THE 1892 LAND CLAIM: 1. In 1972, the late Chief Dennis Nicholas and the Council of the day submitted the original land claim (claim) that concerned the illegal and alleged surrender of Tobique reserve lands in 1892; 2. Over the years, efforts to move the claim forward have proven difficult. The Federal Government’s Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) initially validated the claim in 1982, however in 1988, negotiations were terminated without resolution. In 2001, the claim was reactivated. A formal legal submission was filed the following year; 3. In May 2008, The Chief and Council of the Tobique First Nation were informed by the INAC that the claim was validated and that negotiations to resolve the claim could begin. The period of time for these negotiations will be about three years; 4. In recent years, there have been several successful court challenges against the tactics taken by the INAC on land claims. Such tactics included “technical breeches” that allowed the INAC to overlook legally required documents that favoured the First Nation position on land claims. 5. Further, these legal challenges now obligate INAC to reopen claims that were previously denied – such as our claim concerning the illegal and alleged surrender of Tobique reserve land in 1892; 6. INAC generally negotiates land claims through two separate policies or rules: a) The first type is a comprehensive land claim that concerns lands that have never been ceded or ``given-up`` by First Nation communities. An example of this includes the comprehensive claims held by Maliseet and Migmaq people throughout the entire Atlantic Region; b) The second type is a specific land claim that concerns the illegal dispossession of one particular First Nation reserve lands by a Federal or Provincial Government. This is the type of claim we are now involved in; 7. The policy of INAC to negotiate land claims is considered as an ``alternate dispute process`` that is not a court procedure itself. The process is guided by court decisions however as mentioned in item 5 and 6. First Nations also have the option to take the Federal or Provincial Government to Court to resolve a claim, however the costs for this option are very expensive. 8. The Federal Government recently passed a new law that creates a ``tribunal`` to resolve land claims where parties fail to agree on how to settle a land claim. B. TOBIQUE LAND CLAIM INTERIM STEERING COMMITTEE (STEERING COMMITTEE) 1. Following the May 2008 announcement by INAC that the claim had been validated, An Interim Steering Committee was activated with former and new members that includes Chief Gerald Bear, Councilors Tim Nicholas and Hart Perley. Community members presently include George Francis Sr. (Elder), Edward Perley, Wayne Nicholas (Research), Andrea Bear-Nicholas (Research) and Wendall Nicholas (Communications). Harold Doherty is legal counsel. 2. On July 15-16, 2008, a meeting between the Steering Committee and INAC`s lead Federal Negotiator, Luc Beaudry was held in Quebec City. Councilors Brenda Perley and Laura Sappier attended the July meetings in Quebec City to observe and contribute to the discussions. Andrea Bear- Nicholas was not present for the meeting. 3. The meeting produced two documents: a) Negotiations Protocol b) Workplan for 2008-2009 C. GENERAL MEETING NOTES FROM MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2008: 1. Chief Bear opened the meeting by reviewing two documents that were produced at the July 2008 meeting between the Steering Committee and the INAC Negotiator; 2. The Negotiations Protocol sets out the conditions and understanding for the purpose, principles, process, joint studies, communications, ratification and amendments to negotiations on the claim. 3. The Workplan for 2008-2009 describes the meetings dates, location and activities that are to happen concerning the negotiations on the claim. 4. Discussion on the available positions on related to the work on the claim was discussed. The Committees and positions include: a) Steering Committee; b) Elder Committee; c) Communications Committee; d) Land and Trust Committee; e) Development Committee; f) Negotiations Team (Including Lead Negotiator); g) Land Appraiser; h) Financial Advisor; and i) Legal Counsel 5. It was determined that Nick Paul, Director of the Human Resources would post descriptions of the committees and the available positions in the community. As the Chief and Council are to meet in early September 2008 concerning these committees, there would need to be a deadline established before that date for people to submit their names and resumes for consideration. Elders would have the option of sending a letter of interest rather than a resume. Nick Paul can be contacted at (506) 273- 5533 6. Discussion on the other related land claims were discussed. Given that the 1892 alleged surrender was the largest, it would proceed first. The other claims concern the Narrows and Beechwood Dams, erosion, flooding, pre-confederation and post-confederation land claims. 7. Questions were raised about the claims related to the Narrows Dam. It was explained that certain rules were not followed by NB Electric Power Commission, the predecessor to NB Power concerning the taking of Tobique`s reserve land for use of the construction and operation of the dam. When the land was surveyed beginning in 1947, the land survey itself was done without the appropriate permission. 8. Separate negotiations are underway between Tobique and NB Power toward resolving outstanding issues and to have NB Power deliver on free power to the people and businesses on Tobique. Meetings were held Wednesday, August 13, 2008 on three areas: a) Legal Issues: b) Arrears Issues: c) Partnership-Opportunities: 9. Since May 2008, A protest concerning NB Power’s illegal planning, construction and operation of the Narrows Dam has been held by Tobique women. Councillor Hart Perley is the spokesperson for the protest? She can be reached at hart.perley@nb.aibn.com or cell (506) 273-7722 10. A question was asked about whether the Chief and Council have a budget ready for this work on the claim. It was explained that the INAC does provide departmental loan funding for this work, however the amount for this work is not taken from the amount of the final settlement. An example of this would be if the final settlement amount is $100.00 and the cost of Tobique`s work on the claim is $1.00, the final settlement amount would not be $99.00, it would be $101.00 11. It was also noted that the Chief and Council cannot otherwise borrow from a financial institution against a potential settlement on the claim. 12. Concerning a referendum vote on the claim, this would be conducted with all Tobique registered band members. A communications plan would include getting information to off-reserve registered band members. The members of the land claim committees and financial advisor will develop options on how any potential settlement monies would be spent – this would be part of the referendum. 13. The land in question concerning the claim includes 7,500 to 10,000 acres. There is discussion on two parcels of land that totals 2,500 acres. It may be necessary for the further research on these parcels to either include them in this claim or as another specific claim. |
| Is the chiefs nephew poor? |
| There are 500 native women missing. Their disappeara nces have not been investigated . |
