The chief of the West Point First Nation in Canada's Northwest Territory has sent back her tribe's treaty money, calling the paltry payment an "insult."

Karen Felker said the $216 check barely amounts to $3 per person. It will not cover the promise made in Treaty 11 to pay for hunting and fishing supplies.

So she sent back the check and said the government needs to increase the payment to account for inflation or sent hunting and fishing supplies directly. She's also returning a $5 annual annuity for each tribal member.

"This money is an insult," Felker told The Daily Globe and Mail.

The treaty payments are made every year and are considered to be symbolic of the government-to-government relationship. But tribal leaders acknowledge they haven't kept up with inflation and are somewhat of a joke.

Get the Story:
Treaty money 'a joke,' but no laughing matter (The Globe and Mail 6/28)