Long lineups for treaty annuities at The Forks spark discussion about 'insulting' $5 payment

Dozens of First Nations people braced long lineups and a humidex of 30 on Thursday afternoon to get their treaty annuity payments at The Forks in Winnipeg, leading to conversation on whether the $5 payments are outdated.

The federal government doles out the $5 payments annually to status Indians affiliated with the 11 numbered treaties signed between First Nation communities and the Crown from 1871 to 1921, excluding Treaty 9 in Ontario, whose citizens receive $4.

The event at The Forks began on Wednesday and runs until next Tuesday, except for the weekend. The annuity payments can also be received through direct deposit or the mail.

On Thursday, two long lineups sprouted from a large, white tent stationed near Orientation Circle, spiralling up and down the walking path next to the Red River.

"I think there should have been more tents available [and] a lot more people to work for this, because there's a lot of people that have been waiting for a while to get their funds," Brittany Barnet told CBC News at The Forks.

She was in line with her partner and children for nearly three hours on Thursday afternoon, saying she and many others have not collected their payments since prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Everybody's getting cranky, and the lines are so long, and my kids are just ready to go home too."

CBC reached out to Indigenous Services Canada, which organized the event at The Forks, but did not hear back prior to publication.

Its website states the annuities are symbolic of the relationship between First Nations and the Crown, and may also include the "provision of ammunition and twine for nets" and "a suit of clothing every three years for chiefs and councillors."

But the $5 payments have not been increased or adjusted for inflation since their inception. Barnet said an increase to the payments would benefit many families who are struggling to keep food on the table amid rising inflation.

"The grocery rates are going up," she said.

Land-based payment model recommended

In 2021, just over 127,000 Manitobans identified as having registered or treaty Indian status, according to Statistics Canada.

Sheilla Jones is co-chair of the Modernized Annuity Working Group, a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders who came together in 2019 to look at how the annuities can be upgraded.

She says the treaty annuity payments were meant to empower First Nations families when the treaties were signed.

But $5 in 2023 "doesn't provide much empowerment," she told CBC News.

Compared to when Treaty 1 was signed in 1871, the $5 payment adjusted with inflation would be around $115 today, said Jones.

The working group wants the annuities to use a land-based payment model instead, which the group's website says would acknowledge the value to Canada of the land ceded by Indigenous Peoples.

"We came up with a range between $7,500 to roughly $9,000 per person per year, so that's quite a significant difference."

'$5 doesn't take you very far'

The working group has seen an array of responses to the lack of change in the payments, she said, but they were largely angry.

"The reaction we get is ... it's absolutely insulting to go and receive the $5. Some people won't go to take that money because they feel it's a slap in the face," said Jones, but others choose to take the money as confirmation of their treaty status.

An updated annuity payment would be "a major game changer" and give First Nations peoples more autonomy over their lives, she said.

Jones also said long lineups at The Forks on Thursday could point to the climate of Winnipeg's First Nations community.

"It says something — either that people are feeling a sense of pride and connectedness and want to make a point by coming for their treaty annuity, or it could just be some basic economic need as a fallout from COVID or the economic situation," she said.

"But $5 doesn't take you very far."

Samantha Chief got in line right before the cash began to flow at The Forks around noon, but was all smiles as she stood near the last quarter of the line almost two and a half hours later.

"I just love being around my people," she told CBC News.

"Every time I come, I see cousins I haven't seen in years and I get hugs, so it's nice to stand in line and greet people I haven't seen for so long."

Organizers 'could have done better'

She thinks the annual payment should have been increased a long time ago.

"They inflate all of our groceries, but they can't inflate our little $5. What's up with that?"

Kayla Porteous waited with her children for almost two hours on Thursday.

"They're getting antsy. They're getting bored," she told CBC News, adding that she planned to take them for ice cream and head to the splash pad afterwards.

Porteous said $5 is not realistic in 2023 and she would also like to see it increased. "That would mean a lot. That would mean being able to spend it on just like a meal."

She also felt the organization of the event could have been improved.

"They could have done better. They've done better in the past," she said. "There was no signage, so I didn't know where to go. I was just following … where everybody else was walking."

Despite the circumstances, Porteous said it was great to bump into some familiar faces at The Forks on Thursday.

"It's just really nice being here with my people, and being able to see everybody."