UPDATE: Dakota chiefs decry Ottawa’s silence since apology

Dakota chiefs in western Manitoba say Ottawa has ignored them since it apologized one year ago for labelling their people as refugees.

On this day last year, former Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree apologized to nine Dakota and Lakota First Nations, including five in Manitoba, saying they should have been fully recognized as First Nations in Canada.

Canupawakpa Dakota Nation Chief Raymond Brown said Monday he has had zero communication with Ottawa since the July 15, 2024 apology.

“You can’t just say you’re sorry and do nothing,” Brown said. “The federal government has not done anything after the apology. It was zero communication.”

Brown said it’s not like the First Nation is looking for money from Ottawa, just partnership.

“Be a part of the solution instead of the problem,” the chief said. “That’s what we’re offering.”

Dakota Tipi First Nation Chief Dennis Pashe said he has also been ignored by Ottawa since the apology.

“We try to have positive meetings and positive negotiations and roll up our sleeves and get to work, and the federal government has just not been responsive,” Pashe said.

He added that in court battles with the federal government in the last year, they have again been described as refugees.

“Makes it kind of insincere,” he said. “They’re still saying the refugee song, even though they apologized. How stupid is that?”

The refugee label goes back to Canada’s position since the 19th century that the Dakota and Lakota were seeking refuge from the American military. As a result, they were not invited to sign treaties and received no treaty rights. They received smaller reserves and fewer economic supports than other Indigenous groups.

There’s plenty of evidence to prove the Dakota were here before, Pashe said, and are clearly not refugees.

“This territory is Dakota territory, and we have the documented, historical, archeological, researched evidence from the archives, all the mapping and everything from hundreds of years ago to support our claims. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing in the courts.”

Dakota Tipi First Nation is currently in the midst of a court battle over the ownership of The Forks. Pashe said they are also looking to launch a land reclamation and a loss of use claim, which would include Manitoba and parts of Ontario.

Birdtail Sioux First Nation Chief Tréchelle Bunn wasn’t available for an interview on Monday as she was overseas, but responded to emailed questions.

She said the apology is a symbolic gesture, but that it needs to be followed up.

“Canada itself acknowledged in its apology, ‘words, while important, are hollow if not followed by action,’” she wrote. “The Dakota apology is not the end, it is the beginning of a long-overdue journey in rebuilding a nation-to-nation relationship between Canada and our People.”

Little has changed in the past year, Bunn said, with the government not actually “bringing the apology to life.”

It’s frustrating when the government that apologized and acknowledged its actions won’t even do the next steps, Brown said.

“As we go forward, the government of Canada has to do their part,” he said. “They have to do their due diligence with their apology.

“Where’s the implementation of compensation and recognizing the Dakotas as a sovereign nation in Canada?”

Anandasangaree last year acknowledged the government mistreated the Dakota and Lakota.

“We acknowledge you have been treated as second-class First Nations, as strangers here on your homeland in Canada, a Canada you helped defend, build and develop,” Anandasangaree said during the apology at Whitecap Dakota First Nation south of Saskatoon, Sask.

Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Grant Jackson in an email Monday said empty words are not the way to make progress.

“For too long, the federal government has relied on symbolic gestures and carefully worded apologies to First Nations communities, while failing to deliver meaningful action,” he wrote.

Brown said while he has been ignored and has already gone to Ottawa five times this year, he’s going again this week in hopes something will change.

Anandasangaree — who has since moved to a different portfolio — as well as Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Chief Vince Tacan, didn’t respond to requests for comment by press time.

Current Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty did not respond to the Sun’s request for an interview. However, the department issued a statement on Tuesday morning stating that the Canadian government is working with Indigenous partners “to advance reconciliation, dismantle harmful legacies of colonialism and build a stronger Canada together.”

“Canada deeply values its relationships with all Indigenous partners, including the nine Dakota and Lakota First Nations in Canada,” the statement reads. “We will continue to work together on shared priorities to advance reconciliation, self-determination and a more prosperous future for the benefit of their communities.

The department further stated that discussions at Section 35 tables between First Nations and the federal government are confidential and that it was not in a position to comment on the status of those discussions.

» alambert@brandonsun.com