Feature Article October 28, 2004
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Algonquins try again to put together a table for land Claim negotiationsby Jeff Green
People of Algonquin descent will have an opportunity to elect representatives to the stalled land claim negotiations in an independent process being organized by Algonquin Principal negotiator Bob Potts.
This latest initiative, called the Algonquin Negotiation Representative Elections, began in August.
Before that an attempt had been made to negotiate a protocol between two groups; the Council of the Pikwakanagan First Nation, representing status Indians (according to the Indian Act) of Algonquin descent, and the Algonquin National Negotiating Directorate (ANND), who represent many non-status Indians of Algonquin descent. The major goal was to come to an agreement on what criteria individuals must satisfy in order to become beneficiaries of the Land Claim.
This intention was the first item in a protocol agreement signed by the two groups in March of this year.
The Parties acknowledge and affirm that a critical preliminary issue to be addressed is a joint agreement on beneficiary eligibility criteria to be included in an Algonquin Treaty, and to this end the Parties have committed to make every reasonable effort to secure agreement on this issue on or before the 30th day of June, 2004, the agreement reads.
The Pikwakanagan Council took the position that beneficiary status within the Land Claim should go to those people who can prove they have a 1/8th Algonquin blood quantum, whereas the ANND and its related political group, the Algonquin National Tribal Council (ANTC), said beneficiary status should go to all people who can prove they are directly descended from an Algonquin, no matter how far back.
When June 30th came and went with no agreement in place, it was unclear how the process could be moved forward. Bob Potts decided, and went about convincing Pikwakanagan and the ANND that it was more important to find out what the benefits will be before worrying about who the beneficiaries will be as he recounted to the News in a recent interview. Toward that end, a whole new process has been undertaken.
This month, registration is taking place among Algonquins from throughout Eastern Ontario and at Pikwakanagan (formerly known as Golden Lake) for the purposes of undertaking an independent election process in February. Seven communities have been identified; Sharbot Lake, Mattawa/North Bay, Greater Golden Lake, Ardoch, Bonnechere, Bancroft and Whitney. Provided at least 125 people who are eligible to vote list one of these communities as their community, there will be a vote in February to choose a representative from that community to sit at the Land Claims table.
This process is intended to select representatives to the Land Claims process. These representatives will not be chiefs; they will simply represent groups of people of Algonquin descent at the table, and will report back to those people. The goal of this exercise is to populate the negotiation table, said Bob Potts.
The independent nature of this process is important, because a rift has developed between certain First Nation groups that have sprung up with the development of the Algonquin National Tribal Council in the past few years.
The best known local example is the situation in Ardoch. Two years ago, Randy Malcolm was named the chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation through the ANTC. However, a group loyal to the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation founders disputes Malcolms status. They have their own co-chiefs, Randy Cota and Bob Lovelace, and they dispute the claims of both Malcolm and the ANTC as a whole.
Through the ANTC, the Malcolm group has access to a funding program that is part of the land claims process, whereas the Cota/Lovelace group does not. Similar schisms have developed in other parts of the huge land claim area, which runs west from the Ottawa river to Bancroft, and as far north as North Bay and Mattawa.
By avoiding the ANTC in the current process, and setting up independent elections, with no reference to bands or chiefs, Bob Potts is looking for a way to populate a bargaining table for a resumption of negotiations next spring.
I have informed both the federal and provincial negotiating teams about the process we have undertaken, and they are extremely supportive, Potts said.
Assuming negotiations do resume next spring, Potts envisions moving towards a settlement relatively quickly.
Describing himself as someone with the equivalent of an attention deficit disorder when it comes to negotiations, Potts said I do not have a great deal of patience. Ive had several negotiated settlements over the years, and most of the negotiations Ive been involved in have taken two to three years. I dont talk in decades.
There are obstacles in place in this case that will have to be overcome, however. Although the Council of Pikwakanagan has agreed to put off determining beneficiary criteria for now, that sticky issue will have to be tackled eventually.
As well, adding this new electoral process may only add to the confusion among peoples of Algonquin descent. The ANTC has been involved in their own registration and election process this fall, and the simmering dispute between the two Ardoch groups has already led to confusion among Algonquins in Frontenac County. Adding a whole new registration and election process may only confuse matters further.
Meanwhile the rest of the population is waiting by the sidelines, wondering about the effect a Land Claim will have on Crown lands throughout the region.
Finally, if and when the issue of hunting rights enters into the Land Claims process, suddenly the entire hunting population of Eastern Ontario will take a keen interest in the proceedings, and in how many beneficiaries there are going to be.
Undaunted, Bob Potts remains confident that an agreement can be reached, and that the election system he has put in place will help jump start the process.
For more information on the this, go to www.Blaney. com/Algonquin.htm. The site contains detailed information about how the process is being administered and who is eligible to become involved. There is also a toll free phone number available: 1-877-287-4570
