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An unprecedented look inside a 150 year-long legal battle for independence, land, and justice
In 1874, Chief Chacachas entered a sacred covenant with the Government of Canada by signing Treaty 4 at Fort Qu’Appelle, securing reserve lands for his people at the Crooked Lakes in Southeast Saskatchewan. Only seven years later, the Department of Indian Affairs forcibly displaced Chacachas members onto a joint reserve, amalgamating them into the Ochapowace Band and erasing their identity as an independent band.
The Lost Reserve chronicles the Chacachas Treaty Nation’s unwavering decades-long struggle to reclaim their stolen lands. From early efforts to seek redress in the 1930s, to organizing in the 1970s, to a more-than-twenty-year-long court case culminating in a 2020 judgment affirming the continued existence of the Chacachas Treaty Nation, the book reveals the emotional and financial toll of seeking justice in a system designed to stall reconciliation. While the 2020 court ruling restored their legal identity, the battle isn’t over—the Chacachas remain in an administrative limbo without reserve lands. Drawing from archival records, legal documents, oral histories from Chacachas Elders, and personal testimonies, the book also includes rare commentary from the judge who presided over the case, revealing the inner workings of the kind of legal battle that is often fought in silence for fear of retribution.
Written in partnership between the Chacachas Treaty Nation and an expert historian, and featuring a foreword from Chief Charlie Bear, The Lost Reserve is both a history and a reclamation—a Nation telling their own story of resilience and resistance. It is a story all too familiar for Indigenous communities everywhere, for whom the legacy of settler colonialism is far from over.
""The Lost Reserve is a powerful story of First Nation strength and resilience in response to the racism and inequities at the heart of Canada’s colonization project. It should be read by all Canadians searching for inspiration and a path towards meaningful reconciliation." —Bruce McIvor, author of Indigenous Rights in One Minute: What You Need to Know to Talk Reconciliation"
"“It’s difficult to sum up in a few words the feelings and thoughts that this book evokes. The nêhiyaw word âhkamêyimok, meaning to persevere or try hard, comes to mind. From start to finish, The Lost Reserve is a story and roadmap of how getting to the truth of our Treaty histories is hard, but it can be done through strong and resilient Elders, leaders, citizens, and allies carrying our oral histories forward.” —Kathy Walker, Treaty Commissioner, Saskatchewan"
The Chacachas Treaty Nation traces its relationship with the Government of Canada to the signing of Treaty 4 by Chief Chacachas at Fort Qu’Appelle in 1874. Their traditional territory spans the Qu’Appelle river valley, and their offices are north of Whitewood, Saskatchewan.
Kenton Storey is a Winnipeg-based independent settler scholar at Storey Historical Research. Since 2015, he has worked in the field of Indigenous history, researching and writing about land claims, treaty rights, and the Department of Indian Affairs.