The Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation has announced that it will hold its annual treaty annuity payment event on August 20 and 21, 2026. This two-day gathering serves as a yearly income support payment for registered members of the community, which is situated on the western shore of Lake Manitoba.
As a signatory of Treaty 1, which was signed in 1871 at Lower Fort Garry, the community receives annual payments from the federal government through Indigenous Services Canada. These payments have remained at $5 per person since 1875, a rate that has not been adjusted for inflation in over 150 years.
The static payment amount is currently the subject of a legal challenge. An ongoing $11 billion lawsuit, initiated on behalf of seven Treaty 1 First Nations, including Sandy Bay, argues that beneficiaries are owed full and fair annual payments as originally promised by the Crown.
Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation is a member of the Treaty One Nation and the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council. The community is governed by Chief Trevor Prince and councillors Randal Roulette, Jason Starr, and Michael Dumas. As of 2024, the First Nation had 7,483 registered members.
