The Chief and councillors of the Blood Tribe have announced the ratification of a settlement agreement vote regarding Canada’s mismanagement of the Tribe’s assets in the early 20th century.
The agreement will see the Blood Tribe receive $150 million in compensation to make amends for the devastation of the Blood Tribe’s cattle industry in the early 1900s as a result of overstocking and the overgrazing of pasture land.
Tribe members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the settlement agreement. Of the 3,015 ballots cast, only 49 opposed the deal.
“Chief and Council would like to thank the Committee, administration and ratification staff, legal counsel, elders, and spiritual leaders for their work and support on this claim and the ratification process,” said Kainaiwa Chief and Council in statement released Tuesday evening. “We also thank the Blood Tribe membership for their overwhelming support of the claim settlement and trust agreements.”
The funds will be transferred to the Blood Tribe following an appeal period and the execution of the agreement. The financial settlement will be held in trust by the Blood Tribe and utilized in accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement.
This is not the first time the federal government has compensated the Blood Tribe for previous wrongdoings. In July 2016, the Government of Canada paid the Blood Tribe approximately $6 million for the use of the tribe’s land for military training during the Second World War. Nearly 55,000 acres of the Tribe’s land were turned into an artillery range where live ordinances were detonated.
