LAC LA RONGE INDIAN BAND — The Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) is calling on the federal government to immediately adopt a one-parent rule for Indian status registration, saying broader consultations on reform must not delay action on what the nation describes as ongoing discrimination against First Nations families.
The push comes after the office of Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said Ottawa is considering options beyond the single-parent amendment proposed in Bill S-2, with additional consultations planned this summer before legislation advances.
LLRIB said in a news release that consultation with First Nations is important, but warned it cannot become another mechanism for delay.
“Our people are our people. No law should tell us otherwise,” said Chief Tammy Cook-Searson. “The one-parent rule is a practical and immediate step Canada can take now while broader reform continues.”
The second-generation cutoff was created through amendments to the Indian Act in 1985. The rule limits the ability of some First Nations people to pass status to their children after two successive generations of parenting with non-status individuals.
The LLRIB said the policy continues a colonial system that gradually reduces the number of status Indians over time, affecting identity, citizenship and access to services.
Within the Nation, federal registration rules have resulted in siblings and cousins being treated differently under the law, according to LLRIB. The band said many members now face the possibility that their children and grandchildren could lose status entirely.
“This rule has divided families and denied children their identity,” said Cook-Searson. “It tells some of our children they belong, and others that they do not. That is deeply harmful, and it interferes with our inherent responsibility to determine who belongs to our nation.”
Earlier this year, LLRIB held engagement sessions with elders, members and leadership across its communities. The nation said participants strongly supported a one-parent rule, which would allow a child to be registered if one parent is entitled to status.
According to the band, members said identity and belonging are rooted in ancestry, family, history and responsibility to future generations rather than federal registration rules.
Gull-Masty’s office said Bill S-2 would immediately restore status to about 3,500 people and responds to the Nicholas case, which challenged enfranchisement provisions within the Indian Act. The minister’s office also said Ottawa has accelerated its collaborative process with Indigenous organizations to address the second-generation cutoff, with broader consultations planned this summer.
LLRIB said those efforts do not remove Canada’s responsibility to address known discrimination immediately.
The nation also argued the current registration system has masked the true size of First Nations populations, contributing to long-standing underfunding in housing, education, health care and other essential services. It said any legislative reform must also include funding that reflects actual population growth and need.
“We will always assert our inherent right to determine our own membership,” said Cook-Searson. “But while Canada continues to control registration under its laws, it has a responsibility to ensure those laws are fair. Ending known discrimination cannot wait.”
By Nicole Goldsworthy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SaskToday.ca
Original Published on May 19, 2026 at 09:00
Recent Comments