Blood Tribe members taking chief and council, feds to court over settlement concerns – Lethbridge

Three members of the Blood Tribe in southern Alberta have filed a judicial assessment towards their chief and council, in addition to the lawyer basic of Canada over a $150-million cattle settlement reached in September.

In accordance with the Blood Tribe, the settlement stemmed from a dispute over the federal government’s failure to stick to cattle agreements outlined in Treaty 7 in 1877.

In accordance with a information launch issued Monday, Roger Prairie Rooster, Eugene Fox and Lori Scout are involved over who has management over the cash, and say they imagine the settlement settlement seems to be in contravention of the regulation.

The trio took the authorized motion earlier this month with the help of the Band Members Alliance and Advocacy Affiliation of Canada (BMAAAC).

“We’ve been working in this sort of a system for in all probability the final 30 years and nobody has ever stepped up as a result of they’re afraid,” Scout mentioned.

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Blood Tribe finalizing cattle, pure gasoline settlements in extra of $165M from feds

“Blood Tribe members have been at nighttime for too lengthy. It’s time to create a course of that will increase our financial leverage whereas respecting our aboriginal and treaty rights.”

The group says it believes the Blood Tribe’s chief and council did not correctly seek the advice of tribe members earlier than September’s ratification vote and didn’t present sufficient clear data on what the cash can be used for.

“The settlement settlement itself was by no means produced to the membership, somewhat it was only a abstract of what’s within the settlement,” defined Rob Louie, the president of the BMAAAC.

“We are saying that’s not ok.”

“I would love to see the federal authorities step in and say: ‘Hey, this election was invalid,’” Scout added.

On the forefront of their considerations is alleged monetary negligence.

Fox mentioned some members nonetheless haven’t obtained their $2,000 payout from an identical settlement in 2019.

“The individuals have to know the place their cash is,” he mentioned.

The group desires tribe members to have a extra direct say in the place the cash is allotted, pointing to what they name the ‘dismal state of housing’ on the Blood Tribe, and claiming they’ve been systematically impoverished and misled by their leaders.

“It’s merely about accountability, transparency and having them report back to us,” Prairie Rooster mentioned.

“It’s the individuals’s cash, not chief and council’s cash.”

International Information reached out to the Blood Tribe for response however was instructed that no one was accessible for remark on the time of publication.