02/04/2026
In case you didn’t know….
When people ask when Canada will stop “giving money” to Indigenous communities, it reveals a deep misunderstanding. We are not getting “your money.”
Here's the reality: Treaty funds, meant for Indigenous People, were taken and used as part of Canada’s financial system to build infrastructure like roads, bridges, and hospitals, while Indigenous People were restricted from accessing those funds.
This is what happened .....
After Canada became a country in 1867, the federal government took responsibility for “Indian Affairs.” As treaties were signed, especially Treaties 1–11 between 1871 and 1921, lump sum payments, land sale revenues, and resource revenues from timber, minerals, and leases were not given directly to First Nations to manage. Instead, they were placed into government-controlled “Indian Trust Funds.”
Indigenous Peoples were promised support, resources, and the ability to build prosperous futures in exchange for vast amounts of land. Those agreements were not meant to create poverty. They were meant to create partnership.
And then this happened ......
Instead of Indigenous communities deciding how to invest and build with those funds, the federal government pooled the money into its own finances. It took control because it did not view First Nations as capable or entitled to manage their own wealth or futures.
Here's the part everyone needs to understand ...
By pooling treaty and band money into government accounts, the government was able to use those funds as part of Canada’s overall financial system.
So while Indigenous communities were told their money was being “protected,” in reality it was being used to build the country. Over time, those funds built roads, railways, infrastructure, and the systems that allowed cities and industry to grow.
Canada quite literally developed using Indigenous land and Indigenous money.
At the same time, Indigenous communities were prevented from building wealth, starting businesses, or investing in infrastructure of their own. Instead of economic independence, they were placed into tightly controlled systems of rations, programs, and later welfare-style funding.
Today, while the government still holds hundreds of millions of dollars, on many reserves, funding is capped and opportunities are limited.
Youth who live in remote communities may graduate high school with dreams and ambition, but if they want to pursue training or education in cities, there is often no housing support, no transition funding, and no pathway to make that leap possible.
And then society wonders why poverty persists.
For generations, Indigenous wealth was used to build this country while Indigenous People were locked out of the prosperity that followed.
We want to change that. This week, we will introduce two young men who we are mentoring as they bravely begin a new journey in BC. We invite you to follow what is possible when youth are supported and given opportunities to find their passion.
