Treaty land claim enters final stages

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This article was published 01/02/2019 (2285 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 25-year-long push by Buffalo Point First Nation to reclaim land currently designated as a provincial park may reach its conclusion this year, according to a band councillor with knowledge of the negotiations.

Once talks with the provincial government conclude, a 136-acre parcel that includes Birch Point Provincial Park will become reserve land, Buffalo Point councillor Herman Green said Tuesday.

An access agreement for the lone road leading to the 32-acre provincial park, and a public boat launch just beyond the park boundary, is the sticking point, Green said.

“Those are things that we have to spell out as to how the public will continue to use them.”

The tiny First Nation, which signed Treaty 3 in 1873, initiated the land claim process in 1994. Three years later, Manitoba’s Treaty Land Entitlement framework was established to give treaty signatories an avenue for claiming promised land allocations that never materialized.

Green said the claim first filtered through two tripartite committees, then was handed over to a federal arbitrator, who ruled in favour of the First Nation in December 2016.

“The arbitrator determined it was, by the end, okay to select that property.”

In January 2017, the Winnipeg Free Press reported the decision marked the first time any level of government had recognized an Indigenous land claim involving a provincial park.

The province launched a Court of Queen’s Bench appeal to overturn the ruling the following month.

“They backed out after a year or so,” Green said.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Manitoba Sustainable Development confirmed discussions are ongoing with the First Nation.

“However, nothing is final and the province is working to ensure continued access to the boat launch in the area, as it is the only point of access to Lake of the Woods from Manitoba,” the spokesperson said via email.

An Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson said the federal department can begin the land title transfer process once the provincial government “confirms the land is eligible for reserve creation.”

Located on the north shore of Buffalo Bay, 45 kilometres northeast of Sprague, Birch Point was designated a provincial park in 1961. All land inside the park boundary is classified for recreation, and it is considered a popular destination for Manitoban and American anglers, who camp at its 26-site campground or make day trips from nearby Moose Lake Provincial Park.

Figures from a provincial spokesperson indicate Birch Point campground use rose over the past five years, climbing from 464 nights of use in 2014 to 864 last year.

Green said he wasn’t sure if Buffalo Point Resort would continue operating the campground, but didn’t rule out public access.

Wetlands surrounding the park are home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, according to a 2013 park management plan. Guidelines stipulate Birch Point should remain “a natural-looking area” with “minimal site modifications” along the shoreline. The plan also acknowledged the treaty right of Indigenous peoples “to pursue traditional uses and activities within Birch Point Provincial Park.”

Green said there are no plans to develop the Birch Point land.

“We’re just going leave it the way it’s been used.”

As for the boat launch, Green said it may become pay-per-use, but stressed the access agreement hasn’t been finalized.

“We’d be costing it out in the same way that we’re costing out the launch here,” he said, referring to the boat launch at Buffalo Bay Marina, which charges $12 per day, according to a fee schedule on its website.

Green said the First Nation hasn’t discussed the tourism implications of the land transfer with the RM of Piney, but encouraged park visitors concerned by the entitlement process to consider the land’s historical and cultural significance.

Buffalo Point First Nation, located at the south end of the bay, served as an Anishinabe gathering place for what was once a much larger traditional territory, Green said.

At one time, before dams were built to regulate water levels on Lake of the Woods, community elders recalled walking “all the way from Birch Point to Warroad” on sand dunes, he said.