'Righting a historical wrong': Bearspaw Nation files class action suit against feds over $5-a-year Treaty 7 payment

Bearspaw Nation Chief Darcy Dixon was part of a class action lawsuit filed Tuesday in Calgary.

A First Nation west of Calgary has filed a class action lawsuit against Ottawa, trying to right what it calls a “historical wrong.”

Since Treaty 7 was signed in 1877, the federal government has paid the same five-dollar annuity to Bearspaw First Nation members.

Many other Treaty First Nations members across Canada also receive the payments, often in symbolic annual ceremonies.

The Bearspaw Nation’s lawsuit argues that Ottawa has not adjusted the payments for inflation in nearly 150 years.

It estimates the payment should now be in the thousands of dollars.

“Five dollars in 1877 -- and this is from the historical record --was a substantial amount,” said Bearspaw Nation lawyer Sonny Cochrane. “It was enough to get a family through the winter months. that is what was promised, that what was, what was negotiated.

"Today," he added, "five dollars can't buy you a happy meal from McDonald’s.”

“If Canada is going to prosper over 150 years, (if) big corporations are going to prosper, (if) provinces are going to prosper.," said Bearspaw Nation Chief Darcy Dixon “Our understanding was (that)First Nations should be prospering at the same time -- which hasn't happened.”

The “Crown-Indigenous relations” department told CTV News more needs to be done to renew the treaty relationship but it can’t comment on the lawsuit until it’s served with a statement of claim.