First Nations accuse Hydro, province, feds of profiting from land

Two First Nations are suing Manitoba Hydro and the provincial and federal governments, claiming the institutions have made billions of dollars through hydroelectric operations on land the communities never agreed to cede.

In a statement of claim filed last week in the Court of King’s Bench, Canupawakpa Dakota Nation and Dakota Tipi First Nation in southern Manitoba are seeking damages for alleged infringement on their rights.

The court filing accuses the public utility, the province and the federal government of breaching duties owed to the Dakota nations and of unjustly enriching themselves at the expense of the communities, without consultation.

“The yearly revenue Manitoba Hydro produces from the land and particularly, the activities, is substantial,” reads the lawsuit.

“Manitoba Hydro’s use and occupation of the land and its finite resources deprives the Dakota Nations their ability to fully benefit from the land, economically, socially and spiritually.”

The court papers point to the Crown corporation’s 2024 annual revenue of about $3.3 billion as an example.

The suit claims Hydro’s use of the land has affected the First Nations’ traditional way of life, traditional economic activities and caused economic losses.

The lawsuit accuses Hydro of conducting operations on the Dakota Nations’ land without consultation, excluding the communities from economic benefit.

The claim seeks a court order requiring Hydro pay the communities a royalty or fee to compensate for past and future use of their land.

The lawsuit also asks for legal title to the lands the communities claim they have Aboriginal title to.

None of the defendants have responded to the claims in court.

The two Dakota Nations say their members are the direct descendants of Oceti S’Akowin Nation, who lived across southern Manitoba and elsewhere in Canada for centuries.

The federal government has historically refused to recognize Dakota people as inhabitants of the nation when European settlers arrived, arguing they fled north from the U.S. during the colonization of that country.

Canada apologized to the Dakota and Lakota last year for failing to recognize their status and rights.

Dakota Tipi has filed several lawsuits in recent years over land in southern Manitoba it says it never agreed to surrender to the Crown, including The Forks.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca