A status Indian receives valuable benefits from the federal government (and sometimes provincial governments as well)  that no other Canadians are entitled to. These benefits include tax breaks, educational funding and other assistance.  The number of status Indians on a reserve determines, in part, the amount of taxpayer funding to a reserve - the more status Indians, the more funding to the community.  If the Fort William First Nation Chief is successful in his quest to have a First Nation given the right to determine who can be classified as a status Indian, what would prevent a First Nation from selling the privilege of being a status Indian to individuals who wanted access to the benefits of being a status Indian?  The financial incentive to do so would be there. The band would receive the payment from the individual for admission into the status Indian group, and the band would get more annual funding because it had another member who was a status Indian.