Ocean Man gets official recognition as Treaty 4 First Nation

A First Nation in southeastern Saskatchewan has officially been recognized as a Treaty 4 First Nation.

Officials from the Ocean Man First Nation and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller signed the agreement at a private ceremony in Regina.

According to a media release issued Wednesday, Ocean Man adhered to Treaty No. 4 on Sept. 15, 1875 and a reserve was set up for Ocean Man near what is now Stoughton.

In 1901, Canada amalgamated Ocean Man with two nearby First Nations — Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation and White Bear First Nation — and the federal government stopped recognizing Ocean Man and Pheasant Rump as First Nations that were separate from White Bear.

The people of Ocean Man and Pheasant Rump subsequently were moved to the White Bear reserve.

“In 1989, Ocean Man was formally recognized as a First Nation by Canada, despite the wrongful amalgamation of 1901,” the First Nation’s media release said. “However, there was disagreement over whether the Ocean Man First Nation that was recognized in 1989 was the same band as the one that adhered to Treaty No. 4 in 1875.”

Under the agreement signed Wednesday, the federal government officially recognized that Ocean Man has existed continually since 1875, has never been lawfully extinguished, amalgamated or dissolved, and has never surrendered its treaty rights.

“Ocean Man has been working toward and waiting for significant progress in our negotiations with Canada for many years,” Chief Connie Big Eagle said in the release.

“I want to acknowledge and thank all past and current Ocean Man leadership for their contributions in bringing us to the signing of this Recognition Agreement between Ocean Man and Canada.”