Dakota Tipi claim for title to Forks ‘must fail’: Ottawa says

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This article was published 03/02/2025 (242 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The federal government rejects a First Nation’s claim that it has an unceded right to ownership of The Forks, arguing the community never had sole use of the prime site at the Red and Assiniboine rivers.

Justice department lawyers want the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench to toss the suit filed in August by Dakota Tipi First Nation, which is near Portage. It claims its members are the direct descendants of original inhabitants of the land at The Forks, the Oceti S’Akowin Nation, and did not cede their right to it.

Government lawyers say the claim is bunk and have asked for the court to potentially award court costs.

“Canada states that Dakota Tipi Nation has not provided evidence to meet the criteria for Aboriginal title, and the claim for Aboriginal title to the land must fail,” reads the federal statement of defence, filed Jan. 13.

The government argues that when Europeans arrived to Manitoba in the late 1600s, the land was mostly occupied by the Assiniboine, whom Canada concedes share lineage with the Dakota through the Oceti S’Akowin, but asserts they claim their own distinct identity.

In the centuries since then, the Cree, Ojibwa and Métis have all used and been present on the land, the government asserts, with the Dakota visiting the land several times beginning in 1817 to establish peace arrangements with those groups.

The Forks, a designated National Historic Site, is a popular tourist locale with a market, green spaces and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Government lawyers assert that since at least as early as 1818, the community did not sufficiently or exclusively occupy The Forks land to meet the criteria, did not maintain exclusive control over the land and has not continuously occupied the land, nor does it have a contemporary and substantial connection to it.

The statement of defence says if Dakota Tipi proves to a court it does have title to the land, the federal Crown denies infringing on that right. The government also denies breaching any duty to consult the community or breaching trust or fiduciary duty.

The Dakota Tipi lawsuit also named The Forks, the City of Winnipeg, the Manitoba government, the North Portage Development Corp. and the Forks Renewal Corp. as defendants. To date, no other defendant has responded to the statement of claim.

The renewal corporation, which is owned by the three levels of government through the development corporation, operates The Forks Market.

The lawsuit claimed the various levels of government and their corporations conspired to improperly transfer and use The Forks and unjustly enriched themselves — something the federal government denied.

Government lawyers deny that Canada owes damages to the Dakota Tipi.

Dakota Tipi’s lawsuit seeks an order that directs ownership of the land to the First Nation as well as an injunction restraining the defendants from making further grants, leases, licenses or permits related to the land and its resources without Dakota Tipi’s consent.

Alternatively, the lawsuit argued, the First Nation would seek remedies that respect its rights, including meaningful engagement on settlement discussions, reinstating its ownership of the land as a partner, and consultation on all matters.

The government court filing says “Canada remains prepared to discuss the scope of Dakota Tipi Nation’s claimed Aboriginal rights.”

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. The Dakota did not sign treaties with the Crown.

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

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca