Dakota Nations accuse feds of failing reconciliation goals

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This article was published 07/02/2025 (218 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two Dakota First Nations have accused the Government of Canada of walking back apologies and failing on reconciliation goals as they continue to battle in a Winnipeg court because of disputed land claims.

The ongoing dispute relates to an injunction filed by the Dakota Tipi First Nation and the Canupawakpa Dakota Nation last year that sought to have a recently signed treaty between the Government of Canada and the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) declared invalid.

The two Dakota First Nations filed a legal response on Jan. 30 saying Canada contradicted itself and violated its commitment to reconciliation. The assertion, filed through the Winnipeg Court of King’s Bench, highlighted that Canada was attempting in court to discredit the nations as land title holders, even as months ago it issued a public apology through Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree, who declared the Dakota as undeniable, historical ancestors of the land.

“Canada has walked back its statements made in the apology, and specifically has breached the promises made,” wrote the two Dakota nations in the legal submission. “Canada has once again treated the Dakotas as refugees, suggesting they are American rather than Canadian in direct breach of and contrary to the statements and promises within the apology.”

The Dakotas pointed to legal arguments this year from the Attorney General of Canada, where the attorney general wrote that the Dakota people entered British land, and were given space for humanitarian reasons despite requests from the United States to send them back over the border, or bring an army to Canada to retrieve the Dakota people. They said it directly contradicted the apology in July, and quoted the minister at the time.

“You were not welcomed by the Crown as cherished allies, but as ‘American Indian’ refugees. This was wrong. You were allies. You were not refugees.”

“From this day forward, let no one repeat the hurtful claim that this country, this Canada that you helped defend and shape, and that you continue to contribute so much to, is not your home,” said Anandasangaree in July last year. “The Dakota and Lakota have, since time immemorial, used, lived on, occupied, and drawn life, spirituality and culture from the vast territories within what is now the U.S. and Canada.”

The Dakota nations used the apology to question Canada’s legal arguments, as this month the Government of Canada made a legal submission, asking the court to disqualify the Dakota nations’ as holders of claims to land through Aboriginal titles.

After the Dakota Nations asserted they have rights over land in Manitoba, the Attorney General of Canada put forth an argument that they do not satisfy criteria to stake a claim for Aboriginal title to the land. The attorney general said that Dakota people, as far as Canada is aware, were not firmly established within Canada when legislation took effect.

“Canada states that the Dakota Nations have not provided evidence to meet the criteria for Aboriginal title, and the claim for Aboriginal title to the land must fail,” wrote the attorney general in a submission to the Court of King’s Bench.

The attorney general further stated that, as far as the Government of Canada is concerned, Dakota nations have not satisfied the criteria to claim Aboriginal title. The criteria includes that at “sovereignty,” which Canada listed as 1818 when the British Crown gained jurisdiction over the land, Indigenous nations had to have sufficient and exclusive occupation of the land, with intention and capacity to retain exclusive control; and that they had continuity of occupation or contemporary and substantial connection to the land.

“Canada states that the Dakota Sioux (the “Dakota”), ancestors of the Dakota Nations, were habitually resident in the U.S.A. in the Territory of Minnesota and later the Dakota Territory until 1862-65, when various bands left the U.S.A. and entered British territory,” the legal document stated, adding, “The Dakotas entered British territory and established a permanent residence after 1862.”

The record Canada cited included an 1818 trade agreement that established the British Crown had jurisdiction over Canada, and an 1867 act that founded Canada and passed exclusive legislative authority on the land to Canada.

The Dakota nations in their response in January wrote that they have a long, enduring history on the land. The nations argued that Canada presented a “disingenuous” recount of history and that “Canada has always had knowledge of the (two nations’) rights and interests in the lands, including their position as primary rights-holders to the lands.”

The nations also referenced multiple 17th and 18th century treaties between Dakota people and the French. The nations said many took place in Manitoba, such as in modern-day Selkirk and Portage La Prairie.

The conflict in the Winnipeg court between the two Dakota nations and the Attorney General of Canada was launched by the Dakota nations to halt a treaty recently signed between the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Government of Canada. The Dakota nations launched the action to try to invalidate the treaty, signed on Nov. 30 last year.

When the Dakota First Nations began the legal action, they asserted that the Government of Canada had infringed on the Dakotas’ rights to land in Manitoba, and that the government breached its constitutional duties to consult with First Nations. A spokesperson for the Attorney General of Canada later countered, writing that the duty had been fulfilled, and the treaty was informed by more than a year-long consultation with Indigenous groups.

»cmcdowell@brandonsun.com