In 1930 the Federal Crown transferred the resource ownership to the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. These transfers were conducted without first requiring the resources from the First Nations of the land.

In accordance with the words of various Elders from across the region, First Nations have never relinquished rights to or interests in the resources at the time of Treaty or any time thereafter. It remains then, that the First Nations continue to hold an interest, via Aboriginal title, in the resources that the province of Saskatchewan now purports to own and control under the constitutional authority of the Natural Resource Transfer Act, 1930 (NRTA).

Since 1990, the FSIN has been active in seeking to resolve this outstanding issue. As expected, the issue remains extremely sensitive for provincial officials to deal with given the potential consequences of our First Nation’s assertion of title to the resources and the impacts on the authorities and revenues generated by the provincial government in the resource industry.

In December 2004, work was undertaken to initiate research focusing on the international arena. The research entailed the examination of the international response to Indigenous land issues and Indigenous claims to natural resources. The result of this examination have led to the development of a reference paper, which outlines the groundwork for a political, technical and a potential legal challenge to the NRTA.

Additional work undertaken has included examining previous work undertaken and collecting additional research material. A working draft the NRTA position paper was presented to the Lands and Resources Commission in September 2005. The Commission approved pursuing the NRTA through the Office of the Treaty Commission, and through negotiations with the federal and provincial government. If the negotiation route is unsatisfactory, additional options will be examined.