Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation [1903 surrender]

This claim, submitted to Canada in 1982 and rejected in 1986, questions the validity of the 1903 surrender of a portion of the Roseau River reserve and the management of the subsequent land sales. The Commission accepted the request of the First Nation to conduct an inquiry in November 1993. At a planning conference held in December 1993, the parties agreed that additional research was required, and they jointly engaged an independent contractor under the management of the Commission. On the basis of this research, counsel for the First Nation submitted a legal analysis to Canada. In July 2001, the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs rejected the claim. In September 2001, the Commission accepted a request by the First Nation for an inquiry into this second rejection.

A planning conference was held in April 2002 and, in May 2002, the parties agreed on the legal issues. In July and September 2002, community sessions were held on the Roseau River reserve. In January 2003, terms of reference were finalized for an additional joint research project, and the research report was completed early in 2005. The joint project was presented to the panel by the expert in June 2005, and oral arguments were heard in March 2006 in Winnipeg. The panel is in deliberations.