Muscowpetung First Nation [Flooding claim]

Muscowpetung IR 80, contains 8,849 hectares and is located 31 kilometres west of Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan. The total band population is 1,117, of whom 268 live on reserve.

Originally part of the Qu’Appelle Valley Indian Development Authority (QVIDA), the Muscowpetung First Nation was one of a number of First Nations whose lands were lost to recurrent and, in some areas, continuous flooding caused by the construction in the 1940s of a series of water-control structures under the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act. When negotiations between Canada and QVIDA broke down in August 2003, the Muscowpetung First Nation chose to resume negotiations with Canada on a one-on-one basis. The Commission is at the negotiation table as mediator/facilitator.

The First Nation has continued work on assessing past losses, including a river/lake boundary analysis, and has indicated that it would be prepared to discuss settlement options in the not-too-distant future.