Fort Liard (Jun 05/06) - The Dehcho process lurched forward last week when the federal government offered the Dehcho First Nations a deal on land claims and self-government.

The offer was presented to Deh Cho leaders on May 30 at the spring leadership meeting held in Fort Liard.

Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said he's pleased the federal government came forward with an offer, but they are still a long way off.

It includes 39,000 square kilometres of land and $104 million to be paid out with interest over 15 years.

The Dehcho can choose control over surface and subsurface rights. On land with subsurface rights, they could set royalty rates and keep 100 per cent of the royalties collected.

To further self-government, a regional government would be established and have the power to make laws and deliver programs and services. A series of community governments would also be created. Fifty per cent of the seats in both levels of government would be reserved for Dehcho Dene, which includes Metis.

Tim Christian, the chief federal negotiator for the Dehcho Process, said the government put forward an agreement they considered to be fair and comparable to existing agreements in the North and the rest of Canada.

"The main thing here is that we wanted to put on the table a serious offer so we can get down to the work of trying to arrive at a final agreement," said Christian.

There is a degree of flexibility in the offer and the hope is the Dehcho will make a counter-proposal, said Christian.

Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said he's pleased the federal government came forward with an offer, but they are still a long way off.

"It's nowhere in the ballpark," Norwegian said.

The offer follows normal government tactics, he said.

"They lowball you and at the end of your discussions you arrive at something that will work for both sides," said Norwegian.

One of Norwegian's main concerns with the offer is that it presents a land selection process. The Dehcho have previously stated they want jurisdiction over all the land in the area.

Canada is saying it will give the Dehcho only 17 per cent of what is already theirs, said Norwegian. It would be impossible to accept less than full ownership of all the land, he added.

Some leaders were more shocked by the land selection offer.

"It blew us out of the water," said Chief Roy Fabian of the K'atlodeeche First Nation at the leadership meeting.

"The federal government told us that basically the Tlicho agreement is the bottom line," Fabian said.

Christian pointed out that the offer allows significant influence on the developments in the entire Deh Cho area.

Some land will be under direct ownership, but the First Nations will also have a significant say in how the Nahanni National Park Reserve and protected areas are administered. There will also be influence through the land use plan when it's approved, Christian said.

There are some good points in the offer, according to Norwegian.

The Dehcho Resource Management Authority might be allowed to stand alone. The authority would oversee land use planing, land and water regulations, protected area management, as well as forest and wildlife management.

The offer also suggests the land use plan will be finalized and there will be a move to protect the South Nahanni watershed, said Norwegian.

From here, Norwegian hopes people in the communities will talk about the offer and what they want.

More high level negotiations also need to take place, Norwegian said.