Canada. Special Inquiry for Elder Indians' Testimony : The Special Inquiry for Elder Indians' Testimony was established under Order in Council P.C. 703, 17 March 1977, under Part I of the Inquiries Act (R.S.C., 1970, c.I-13) and on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Commission was mandated to obtain information from elderly First Nations individuals with knowledge of the events giving rise to grievances about rights and claims of status Indians where a member of the Joint Sub-Committee on Indian rights and claims has referred such grievance to the Commissioner for the purpose of obtaining information and he had decided that such action is appropriate. The commissioner was Lloyd I. Barber.
In April 1975, the Government of Canada established a Joint Committee composed of representatives of the National Indian Brotherhood and federal Cabinet Ministers to discuss problems of mutual concern to the government and the status Indians of Canada. Under its direction, the government also established a Joint Sub-Committee, made up of three Cabinet Ministers and three representatives of the National Indian Brotherhood. Its purpose was to reach agreement on processes for settling grievances over Indian rights and claims.
Further, in 1977, the Prime Minister of Canada appointed a Commissioner with authority to question elderly First Nations individuals about matters giving rise to grievances of status Indians. It was thought that elders' testimony about processes involved in their adhesion to a treaty, or their understanding of its terms and conditions might be of value in settling outstanding claims or grievances (Order in Council P.C. 703, 17 March 1977). Although stories were previously recorded by fieldworkers from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians (now Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations), there was concern that the recordings may not be sufficient for legal purposes or other authoritative purposes. Because of these concerns, official hearings were requested so that the information could be recorded in a formal process and in a form that could be used in legal proceedings.
Hearings were held in Pelican Narrows and Stanley Mission, Saskatchewan on 4 February and 27-28 August 1977. RG33-108 General Inventory
