I was doing a project with Osoyoos when they were negotiating their land claim settlement with the federal government.   Don't confuse being progressive and committed to moving forward with not standing up for their rights. The land claim was for the land around the lake and river valley that the Queen’s agent  at the time asked the queen to give him instead of including it in the agreed reserve.   Instead the Osoyoos reserve consisted of Canada’s only desert and mountains.  So, in return for being progressive reserve, Chief Louie squeezed the feds for everything they could get in their settlement and used it to move forward.  They don’t forget that the feds screwed them out of their river/lake access that formed the basis of their diet and trading routes.

The bottom line is that deals/treaties that were negotiated with FN in Canada allowed for the government of the day to move ahead with settling Canada.  The British in building their commonwealth choose to use treaties and their means of expansion.   Regardless of what anyone thinks about the treaties they are binding on Canadian now and into the future (e.g. in perpetuity).  

I may not swing as far to the left as Hoov does on First Nation issues but there is no doubt that the FN have been repeatedly screwed over by just about everyone that could including their own leadership and government.  What we are dealing with now is the interpretation of poorly written agreements that in many cases didn’t reflect the actual negotiations coupled with over a century of the Canadian governments not living up to their stated obligations and a dramatic shift in information technology and communication.

Resolving the issue will cost 10’s if not 100’s of BILLIONS of dollars to resolve. So instead of resolving it, the disputes were ignored  and things are now working their way through the courts were the arguments are being heard and decided.   Some of theses decision are being decided for the FNs, some against.

It is that colossal fight that you and I as shareholders get to sit and watch.   So until there is a negotiated settlement (possibly imminent) or a court decision (a decade or two away) we as shareholders wait.   The only influence we have is to encourage politicians to sit down and aggressively negotiate.   No amount of posturing, chest thumping or rhetoric is going to make this one go away.

.... Been There