97
EDMONTON — The federal government is being sued by a band from a troubled Alberta reserve over claims Ottawa has not provided treaty relief for the “famine and pestilence” that have overtaken the community.
The Erminskine band from Hobbema filed a statement of claim in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench earlier this month. The claim alleges that the government has reneged on a promise in Treaty 6, signed in 1877, to provide aboriginals in the area with a “medicine chest.”
The lawsuit also names Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl as a defendant.
The native community alleges the government hasn't ensured the necessities of life — including water — are available on the reserve. According to the statement of claim, the federal government has not funded a well upgrade or installed pipe necessary to carry water, so the band must continue to truck supplies in from a nearby community.
The statement also suggests programs by the Indian and Northern Affairs Department to reduce hunting and fishing have resulted in substantial changes to the Ermineskin way of life and diet.
These changes have led to a “calamity” consisting of “overwhelming” diabetes, gangrene and kidney disease, alleges the statement of claim.
The lawsuit quotes passages from Treaty 6, including one that says: “A medicine chest will be kept at the house of each Indian agent in case of sickness amongst you.”
The Ermineskin tribe is also alleging the government has not reimbursed it for $4.5 million in social assistance provided by the band as part of a comprehensive funding arrangement reached last year.
As well, the band alleges the government has breached the treaty by failing to provide schooling for between 300 and 400 socially assisted children on the reserve.
A statement of defence has not yet been filed. Statements of claim and statements of defence contain allegations which have not been proven in court.
The Erminskine band is one of four on the Hobbema reserve in central Alberta. The reserve is plagued by drug-related gang violence, including drive-by shootings and homicides.
A 20-year-old woman and mother of a young child died Aug. 16 after she was hit in the head when her home was riddled by bullets. Earlier this year, a two-year-old girl was wounded in a drive-by shooting.
