Interesting Canadian item >From the CNEWS site at http://www.canoe.com:80/TopStories/dogrib_aug3.html Cheers Rod Tuesday, August 3, 1999 Negotiators recommend Ottawa accept $90 million land claim deal RAE LAKES, N.W.T. (CP) -- Government and aboriginal negotiators are expected to initial an agreement next Monday that would give a northern First Nation $90 million and title to 39,000 square kilometres in the Northwest Territories. Initialling the agreement means negotiators recommend it form the basic shape of a final treaty. The agreement, reached in Ottawa June 11, affects about 3,000 Dogrib living in four communities in the North Slave region, which stretches from the Mackenzie Valley eastward to the central Northwest Territories. As well as money, the Dogrib would also get mineral rights to the land covered by the treaty, which is adjacent to the area now producing diamonds. The Dogrib would also receive a share of resource revenues derived from the Mackenzie Valley. The agreement also lays out the framework for Dogrib self-government -- the first northern land claim to do so. Federal law would prevail over Dogrib law and Dogrib law would prevail over territorial law. Land covered by the claim has been extensively staked for mining. Existing claims will be honoured under the new agreement and will continue to be administered by the federal government. The four communities -- Rae-Edzo, Snare Lake, Rae Lakes and Lac la Martre -- would be governed by chief and council. While the chief must be a Dogrib, seats on council would be open to all. Members of those communities begin discussing the agreement immediately after the initialling at the Dogrib general assembly in Rae Lakes. They will vote on it later. If it's approved, the federal and territorial governments and the Dogrib will begin hammering out a final agreement. Tuesday's appointment of Robert Nault as minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, replacing Jane Stewart, is not expected to affect the initialling. Negotiations on the agreement began in 1994. The Dogrib have also signed benefits agreements with both diamond miners operating in the area, BHP Minerals and Diavik Diamonds. Rod Hagen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hurstbridge, Victoria, Australia WWW http://www.netspace.net.au/~rodhagen ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
