Elsipogtog close to final settlement in 1824 Illegal Taking land claim [ NB Media Co-Op ]

Jul 8, 2025 ELSIPOGTOG FIRST NATION

Elsipogtog First Nation is currently in negotiations with the federal and provincial governments in cases meant to address the history of stolen Mi'kmaq land in the territory known today as New Brunswick. To learn more about what's at stake and the current status of negotiations, NB Media Co-op volunteer Lance Francis interviewed lawyer Amy Sock of the Elsipogtog Claims Centre. Sock explained that two separate cases are underway. The first, known as the 1824 Illegal Taking Claim, deals with the historic loss of reserve land and primarily involves negotiations with the feds. Colonial authorities set aside more than 50,000 acres of land in the early 1800s for the so-called Richibucto Tribe of Indians, now called Elsipogtog First Nation. Today, their reserve land covers only 4,600 acres, according to data from the Claims Centre. Canada admitted that it had breached its obligations to the First Nation in 2020 and offered to negotiate a settlement. Elsipogtog has received a $30 million advance from the feds while they negotiate this final settlement, and some of that money has been distributed to community members in $1,000 payments. However, there have been complaints locally about delays. A referendum about the final settlement and how to allocate the money it is expected to take place as early as 2026, ahead of band elections. "It could be another couple of years, but I'm thinking that it's going to be sooner," Sock said. Also currently underway is an Indigenous title case covering a large area of New Brunswick. Elsipogtog asserted title to about a third of the province in 2016. Eight other Mi'kmaq nations more recently asserted title to a larger area overlapping with the territory previously claimed by Elsipogtog. Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn Inc., an Indigenous rights collective bringing together Mi'kmaq bands in the province, has said they are in discussions with Elsipogtog over harmonizing the two cases. "The comprehensive land claim is in a larger scale and it encompasses more than half of the whole New Brunswick, where we consider it to be a Mi'kmaq unceded traditional territory," Sock said. Wolastoqey Nation launched a separate title claim covering the western half of the province in 2021, a case involving territories overlapping with the Mi'kmaq claims. However, Indigenous leaders have said they're not in competition. The Mi'kmaq title case may eventually lead to a self-governance agreement, Sock said. She estimated that it might take a decade to resolve. Lance Francis is a St. Thomas University student and a member of Elsipogtog First Nation. Video production and editing by NB Media Co-op staff reporter David Gordon Koch. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).