Apr 22, 2024
‘Garden River First Nation leadership upholds a profound fiduciary duty to our entire community, including future generations,’ says Garden River First Nation Chief Karen Bell
The decision follows a “careful review of the treaty’s implications and a recent judicial clarification regarding annuity distributions,” according to a statement by the First Nation posted publicly to social media Monday.
Chief and council say it’s now acting on those unspecified clarifications and the “principles upheld” by the Chiefs in Assembly for the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund, which “acknowledge that the rights under the Robinson Huron Treaty are fundamentally collective.”
“In recognizing the need to maintain a reasonable balance between the collective and individual portions of the annuity, we have resolved not to pursue a 100 per cent per capita distribution of the past compensation under the treaty settlement,” said Garden River First Nation Chief Karen Bell. “This decision allows us to invest significantly, avoiding the financial pitfalls that could arise from depleting our funds through immediate individual payouts — a situation that has adversely impacted other communities.”