Peguis Treaty Land Entitlement Trust

Welcome

Smudging by burning sage is an ancient healing practice of the Cree and Ojibway peoples of the plains. Sage is often burned to start a ceremony or to mark a significant moment, in this case, the sharing of knowledge and news about our journey at the Peguis Treaty Land Entitlement Trust. 

Tawow pihtikweh (Cree), Pintigen (Ojibwe),  Welcome. 

Q: What is the difference between Peguis Treaty Land Entitlement Trust and Peguis Surrender Claim Trust?

A: Peguis Treaty Land Entitlement is fundamentally different from Peguis Surrender Claim Trust. In a nutshell, Peguis TLE is about lands owed to Peguis under the terms of Treaty 1 entered into by the First Nation in 1871. In 2008, the federal government finally came to terms with Peguis on the amount of lands (and monies to enable land purchases) owed to our community. The compensation paid to Peguis was paid into a trust called the Peguis Treaty Land Entitlement Trust. The Surrender Claim Trust is a trust set up in 2008 to hold the compensation paid to our community for the wrongful taking – or “illegal surrender” - of our lands at St. Peter’s reserve. Canada agreed to compensate Peguis for this wrong and the monies were put into a trust called the Peguis Surrender Claim Trust. For information about the Peguis Surrender Claim Trust go here.

Trust Overview

Peguis First Nation Treaty Land Entitlement Trust was created under an agreement signed with Canada and the Province of Manitoba on May 12, 2008. The Trust beneficiaries are the First Nation and its members. The Trust is made up of two sets of trustees: Financial Trustees and Community Fund Trustees, administration staff and an Implementation Office.

The agreement settled outstanding promises of land that, for various reasons, remained unfulfilled under Treaty Number One of Aug. 3, 1871. Under the TLE Settlement Agreement, Peguis is entitled to select and acquire up to 166,794 acres of additional land as Reserve. To enable this, Canada agreed to pay Peguis the sum of $64,425,000. In 2008, the sum of $61,397,215 was deposited to the Peguis First Nation Trust, of which $56,397,215 was transferred to the Implementation Account and $5,000,000 to the Community Fund Account.

Each year, the Trustees are required to provide the Chief and Council of Peguis First Nation with financial statements for the Trust, as well as a report on the administration of the Trust. The report describes the expenditures of the Implementation Account and the Community Fund Account, as well as the investments for the Trust. The Trust administration hires money managers and investment experts to buy stocks and bonds on the markets to grow the fund, even while some of the funds are expended annually to support beneficiary proposals, community projects, and other causes as provided in the Trust terms.

Each year, the Trust holds an Annual General Meeting at which the administration, investment consultants and trustees report to the beneficiaries on the status of the Trust monies, activities and approved applications to the Trust. The current year’s AGM report is available at the TLE Trust office in Peguis.