Canada pays 1,209 million euros in land compensation to indigenous peoples

MADRID, 3 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed a historic land claim agreement with the indigenous Siksika First Nation on Thursday and will pay 1.209 million euros ($1.3 billion) to help "right a wrong of the past." one of the largest deals of its kind in Canada.

"Canada must stop using the word reconciliation. It is never going to reconcile, it is never going to do anything complete," said Siksika chief Ouray Crowfoot.

Crowfoot has said that while the deal won't make up for past mistakes, it will make a difference in people's lives and provide opportunities they didn't have before.

"We have come together today to correct a mistake of the past," Trudeau said at the ceremony he attended with the Minister of Crown and Indigenous Relations, Marc Miller.

Thus, the president stressed: "We are meeting to give ourselves the opportunity to begin to rebuild trust between us, from nation to nation."

The government has claimed the deal dates back more than a century, when Canada broke its Blackfeet Treaty promise and took nearly half of the Siksika Nation's reserve land, including some of its farmland. , to sell them to people who settled in the area.

Compensation has been awarded due to outstanding land claims, which include some 46,500 hectares of the Siksika Reserve and certain mineral rights taken by Canada.

Crowfoot has claimed that some of the money will go towards solving problems affecting its members. "We are working to recover police surveillance and records from residential and mental health schools," she said.

Siksika's website has indicated that each member of the nation will receive $20,000 in July as part of the deal.