RAINY LAKE FIRST NATION -- After a decade of negotiations, a northwestern Ontario First Nation has reached a land claim settlement with the federal and Ontario governments.
Under the agreement announced late Monday, the 167-member Mitaanjigamiing First Nation will receive $23 million from Canada and $1.8 million from the province.
The community is located on the western shore of Rainy Lake, near Fort Frances. It was formerly known as Stanjikomiing First Nation, but changed its name in 2009.
According to a news release from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, the settlement will also add about 1646 hectares of provincial Crown land to the First Nation's existing reserve.
The basis for Mitaanjigamiing's claim was that it did not receive either the quantity or the quality of land it was entitled to under Treaty # 3 which it signed in 1873.
Chief Janice Henderson calls the settlement "transformational."
In a statement, she also referred to a previous milestone for the First Nation that was reached 29 years ago. "After years of our citizens having been dispersed throughout the territory and temporarily located on an island because we did not have a permanent home...we were finally able to establish a permanent community site after many years of negotiations."
Henderson said the new settlement will enable Mitaanjigamiing to create further economic opportunities.
Tripartite negotiations to resolve the claim began in 2007, and the First Nation voted to accept the agreement in 2017. Final ratification came from the federal government in January of this year.
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