“The Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement became a watershed, a kind of living proof that the Treaties still meant something, despite the attempts of church and state to erase that knowledge,” writes Treaty Commissioner George L. Lafond in The Land is Everything: Treaty Land Entitlement.

Executive Director of the Office of the Treaty Commissioner Harry Lafond acknowledges that the success of the Treaty Land Entitlement story lies in the perseverance, leadership and vision of a diverse group of people.

To succeed, Saskatchewan Chiefs, councilors, band managers, consultants, historians and government officials came together “to ensure the dreams of the Treaty signers would become a reality,” writes Lafond in the book.

Just treatment for land became a reality with the 1992 signing of The Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement, under late Treaty Commissioner Cliff Wright’s leadership and practical approach and the clear vision of many Elders and politicians.

“It (TLEFA) is the trigger to a new age in the Treaty relationship among the peoples of Saskatchewan. Today 1 million acres of land has been purchased by First Nations under this agreement,” Lafond states.

Published by the Office of the Treaty Commissioner, The Land is Everything: Treaty Land Entitlement provides a wide range of perspectives on the complex history that led to the Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement. The TLEFA set out terms whereby 33 First Nations in Saskatchewan were able to purchase land in fulfillment of a long-standing shortfall.

The book was published by Tasha Hubbard and Marilyn Poitras. Hubbard is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Saskatchewan, and is from the Peepeekisis First Nation. Poitras teaches at the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan, and is Michif from Southern Saskatchewan.

Click here for more EFN Arts & Culture stories and events...