After nearly seven decades of legal battles, the Gitanmaax Band Council has finally reached a specific claims settlement with Ottawa.
Specific claims are used to compensate First Nations for past wrongs, related to land administration or failures to fulfill treaty obligations.
In 1948, the Band agreed to surrender 36 acres of reserve land to Canada for the purposes of building a mixed school for Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.
But, the land was mostly used by Canada to expand the neighbouring, largely non-Indigenous, Village of Hazelton.
In 1950, the Gitanmaax began demanding the land be returned, and in 1987, they filed a lawsuit in Federal Court, and a specific claim in 2001.
Now, the pair have reached a settlement which will see Canada pay $6.1 million in exchange for the Band ending the claim and lawsuit.
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