End of Life Planning on Reserve: Challenges, Opportunities and Resources for Making a Will

by Hero Laird

There are important reasons to talk about end of life planning - and it can be difficult. In some Indigenous communities, there may be teachings, protocols, and laws around not talking about death and dying. At the same time, end of life planning can support loved ones, solve problems, and give a voice to those who have journeyed on. It can prevent arguments and reduce administration. Making a will a part of end of life planning. A will can take care of loved ones, prevent arguments and make administration easier. It can make sure a person’s wishes are followed for the passing on of such things as their home, property, land or even ceremonial items. A will can also  recognize relationships like custom adoption that may not otherwise be acknowledged in federal or provincial law. 

About 90% of people living on reserve do not have a will, compared to about 51% of all Canadians.

Many First Nations face additional questions and challenges for wills and estate planning on reserve. Some of these relate to legal differences on and off reserve. For people who live on reserve and have Status under the Indian Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I-5), the Indian Act applies, including sections 48 and 50. Off reserve, provincial law applies. At the 2025 Indigenous Bar Association (IBA) conference, Leighanne Gardipy presented on a "Wills and Estates" panel and shared that approximately 90% of people living on reserve die without a will, compared to 51% of all Canadians. She described this as a barrier to creating intergenerational wealth, inviting the audience to create wills as one way to think of children and generations to come. She discussed some legal challenges related to the role of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and the contents and application of the Indian Act. For example, if a person does not have a will, the Indian Act determines who administers the estate and how assets are distributed after death. 

The application of Indigenous law can be part of a response to these challenges. Many Indigenous legal orders have processes and rules for what happens when someone dies. In some cases, people have decided to write some of these out. Written examples include the Naskapi and the Cree-Naskapi Commission Act (SC 1984, c 18) ss 181-186. In other cases, Elders and knowledge keepers like Larry Amik Smallwood have made some information widely available. The Saskatoon Survivors’ Circle provides another example as they engage with unwritten Cree principles and approaches in planning for death and dying. How might end of life planning uphold Indigenous law as well as Canadian law?

There are already ways that Indigenous peoples and nations are both upholding Indigenous law and meeting the provincial and federal requirements for a will to be enforced. For example, 2025 IBA panelist Jodi Hancheroff suggested that spiritual items or practices can be noted somewhere else so they are only indirectly referenced in a will. Specific loved ones can be named as beneficiaries (people who receive assets after someone dies) even if they would not receive anything under the default provincial or Indian Act rules that apply when someone dies without a will. Wills can also be created without a person widely sharing that fact or communicating the details, and still help guide decision making after death. 

The WLGL has been working on a research project about Wills and Estates on-reserve in Alberta (stay tuned). In the mean time, there are some helpful resources out there that can offer support in wills and estates planning on reserve. Nationally, see resources from Indigenous Services Canada and the Swampy Cree Tribal Council. Provincially, see: Legal Aid BC, Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Saskatchewan, Advocacy North for Elders and Seniors (Ontario), and the Confederacy of the Mainland Mi'kmaq (Nova Scotia). In Alberta, there is general wills and estates information from groups like the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta, although it is not on-reserve specific. 

While these templates and guides can be helpful, Jodi Hancheroff emphasized the importance of hosting wills or end of life planning workshops to educate community members and having respectful conversations that address each individual’s life circumstance. ISC offers funding for Indigenous Nations and other groups to host these workshops. With care, taking these steps may strengthen and uphold important relationships.