Blood Tribe Administration sign in Standoff. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Uncertain timelines remain for payment of $150M Blood Tribe cattle settlement

Jul 28, 2022 | 10:20 AM

STANDOFF, AB – The chief and council of the Blood Tribe First Nation does not know when members will be able to receive payments from a historical settlement with the federal government.

In September 2021, the First Nation voted to ratify a $150-million settlement with the federal government for the Treaty Entitlement Cattle Specific Claim, also known as the “cows and ploughs” settlement.

Once finalized, each Blood Tribe member will receive a one-time payment of $3,000, while the rest of the money would go to a long-term investment fund, infrastructure projects, and legal costs.

READ MORE: $150M cattle settlement approved by Blood Tribe members

The settlement relates to the Blackfoot Treaty of 1877, in which the federal government promised to provide cattle and agricultural equipment to members as part of Treaty 7 negotiations. In exchange, Ottawa would receive roughly 130,000 square kilometres of land. The federal government never followed through on its end of the deal.

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Following the ratification of the settlement, things took a turn when three members of the Blood Tribe launched a lawsuit against council, alleging that they did not properly consult members on the ratification vote and failed to provide documents that outlined the exact details of the proposed settlement.

According to the trio, that did not allow voters to make an informed decision as they did not know where all the money would be going, adding that they believe each person should have been compensated more.

READ MORE: Blood Tribe members launch lawsuit against Council regarding $150M settlement

As a result of the lawsuit, the federal government decided to hold off on issuing the settlement money until the legal matters were resolved.

“Canada has advised that the Minister not execute a Settlement Agreement while the judicial review proceedings are before the court,” reads an update from Blood Tribe Council on July 27, 2022. “As such, Blood Tribe Council is not able to provide any date for when compensation will be paid and a per capita distribution is able to be held or money is available for capital projects.”

Earlier this year, the Blood Tribe filed a legal motion in court, arguing that the three applicants lacked the legal capacity to claim that they were representing all members of the First Nation.

On July 21, 2022, a case management judge issued their ruling, agreeing with the Blood Tribe on their motion.

There will still need to be a hearing for a judicial review application. The involved parties will have until November 2022 to submit their evidence and legal arguments. The hearing is expected to take place in either late 2022 or early 2023.