Ottawa (Feb 10/03) - A First Nations veterans package offered by the federal government is having little impact in the NWT.

So far only one application has been received from the NWT for the up to $20,000 per veteran or surviving spouse. The deadline for applications is Saturday.

The federal government has committed $39 million in response to long-standing grievances of First Nations veterans of the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War.

To qualify, they must have settled on reserves and had their veterans' benefits administered by agents on the reserves.

About 1,500 applications had been received by late last week from the estimated 1,800 eligible First Nations veterans across Canada, says Janice Summerby of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Ottawa.

The government says the package is a gesture of goodwill and not an admission of liability.

To accept the package, a veteran has to sign a waiver against participating in a lawsuit against the government over lack of benefits provided to First Nations veterans.

Hay River's Lila Whelan, the Northern representative of the National Aboriginal Veterans Association (NAVA), is not impressed by the federal offer.

"I think veterans should have gotten a lot more than what they're getting," she says.

Whelan notes that NAVA is also working on a proposal for compensation for aboriginal veterans.