Feature Article Algonquin series
June 3, 2004
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Algonquin Land Claim in Ontario a brief history
by Jeff Green
In a list of pertinent dates concerning the Algonquin Land Claim, the earliest one is 1603, when Samuel de Champlain met a group of Algonquin traders.
From that date forward there have been consistent acknowledgements from colonial powers, first the French and later the English, that the lands in the Ottawa Valley were Algonquin lands.
Algonquins have filed about 30 petitions claiming their lands since 1772, including 20 between 1820 and 1850, but there was a gap of almost 100 years between 1881 and 1977. This 100-year time period has been well documented as a dark period in the history of First Nations in Canada, and in the Ottawa Valley it has been characterized by wholesale logging, the settling of lands by immigrants under grants from the federal government, and government-sponsored attempts to assimilate First Nations peoples.
In 1983 the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan, the only status Algonquin Community that is located in Ontario, who live on a 632-hectare parcel of reserved land near Golden Lake, petitioned the Crown in right of Ottawa and Canada to recognise its aboriginal title.
In December of that year, in the flush of a new Canadian constitution, the Supreme Courts of Ontario and Canada both recognised the validity of a document that was proclaimed and presented in 1763 to the Algonquin and Nippissing peoples by Sir William Johnson, the highest British Official in North America at the time. That document, whose certified original copy remains in the National Archives of Canada to this day, pledged the Crowns honour in protecting land rights of the Algonquins and the Nippissings.
Subsequent to these court rulings, the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan notifed both governments of their claim to the lands occupied by Algonquin Park, claiming they had never been surrendered to the Crown, or purchased by the Crown. The spectre of a long legal battle was facing both levels of government.
In 1991, Ontario and the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan decided to enter into negotiations aimed at producing a land claim settlement. A statement of intent was signed by both parties and negotiations began on June 15 of that year.
On December 7, 1992, the Federal government announced it would join the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan and the Province of Ontario at the negotiating table.
The parcel of land included in the land claim is massive, including the watersheds of the Mattawa and Ottawa rivers. It encompasses 8.9 million acres or 14,000 square miles (see map), an area which is populated by over 1 million people, most of whom live in or around the City of Ottawa. The Parliament of Canada, and most of the machinery of the government of the country are located within the Algonquin Land Claim territory.
In 1994 the Chief and Council at Pikwakanagan passed a law enabling them to seek out non-status Algonquins, those of Algonquin descent who have no affiliation with Pikwakanagan but can prove Algonquin ancestry. This brought non-status communities into the process. There are six communities that have been identified and sit together on a tribal council. They are: the Antoine First Nation, based in Mattawa, the Mattawa-North Bay First Nation, based in North Bay, the Algonquins of greater Golden Lake, based in Killaloe, the Bonnechere Algonquin First Nation, based in Renfrew, The Sharbot Mishigama Allgonquin First Nation, based in Sharbot Lake, and the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, also based in Sharbot Lake.
The term non-status is problematic, and the criteria for determining who is a non-status Algonquin has become an issue which has slowed down the talks.
According to Doreen Davis, the chief of the Sharbot Mishigama First Nation and the principal representative to the Land Claim negotiations for the Algonquin National Tribal Council, there are about 5,000 off-reserve non-status Algonquins who are part of the land claim. When asked, Davis declined to say exactly how many people are represented by each of the different communities, even by the Sharbot Mishigama First Nation. She did, say, however, that during Land Claims talks each of the chiefs representing the six communities brings full documentation for all the individuals they represent, and this is available to the federal and provincial officials on request.
Pikwakanagan represents a total of 1872 people, 409 living at Pikwaganagan and 1463 living off reserve. This information is available on the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development web site.
What is being negotiated and why is it taking so long?
In the past ten years, negotiations between the three parties have proceeded in fits and starts.
The latest public message from the chief negotiator for Ontario, Brian Crane, makes reference to what is behind the slow pace of the negotiations.
While formal negotiations have been inactive in recent months, the Algonquins now have a new negotiator, Robert Potts. Ontario and Canada have consistently emphasised the need for Algonquins to speak with a united voice in these negotiations, and we are hopeful that they are making progress in this regard.
In fact, according to C.B. Pappin, a communications consultant representing the Ontario government, negotiations have been on hold since the spring of 2002, for the Algonquins to address their internal issues.
Chief Kirby Whiteduck, of the Pikwakanagan band council, confirmed that a meeting schedule is being set between Pikwakanagan and a group called the Algonquin Nations Negotiations Interim Directorate, which represents the six non-status communities, in order to finally determine criteria for inclusion within the Algonquin claim for non-status individuals and how they will be represented. It is hoped that a set of criteria acceptable to Pikwakanagan and both levels of government will be achieved within the next few months. If this does not happen, it is unclear what will happen to the land claim.
Before being suspended in 2002, the negotiations had been able to produce shared objectives, signed in 1994 and confirmed once again in 2001.
The objectives commit the parties to the following eight principles: 1. Avoid creating injustices for anyone, 2. Establish certainty and finality with respect to title, rights and interests in the land and natural resources, 3. Identify and protect Algonquin rights, 4. Protect the rights of private landowners, including their rights of access and use to their land, 5. Enhance the economic opportunities of the Algonquins, with the intention of also benefiting and promoting general economic opportunities in the area, 6. Ensure that Algonquin Park remains a park, 7. Establish mechanisms for managing the lands and natural resources affected by the settlement, and 8. Continue to consult with interested parties and keep the public informed on the progress of negotiations.
C. B. Pappin commented that the negotiations that have taken place have concerned the broader issues that must be settled, one of them being to determine who is an Algonquin and how are they being represented.
According to the Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat, the settlement is expected to include parcels of titled land, economic development opportunities, and an agreement on harvesting rights, including hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering. All issues relating to cash or land settlements are yet to be addressed.
On one front there has been progress, and that is the issue of hunting agreements. Both the Pikwakanagan and the Algonquin National Tribal Council have established hunting and fishing practices for their members that have enabled them to negotiate agreements with the Ministry of Natural Resources in Ontario. Yearly agreements were renewed for several years, and last August an interim agreement was established. As well, in 2003 a Moose tagging system was established.
The troubles with the Ardoch AlgonquinsAs the Land Claims process has been established, it has led to disputes within the Algonquin communities. This has been alluded to in vague terms by the Ontario Government negotiating team. Among the Algonquin families in North, Central, and South Frontenac, the land claims process, its potential benefits and drawbacks have led to a major dispute, leaving two groups now claiming to represent the Ardoch Algonquins: the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, under chief Randy Malcolm, which is recognised by the Land Claims process and has an office in Sharbot Lake, and the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation and Allies, under co-Chiefs Randy Cota and Robert Lovelace, and honorary chief Harold Perry.
In the fourth and final instalment in this series that began with an article on Harold Perry and wild rice in Mud Bay and led to this discussion of the Algonquin Land Claim, this dispute will finally be addressed, with both sides being given an opportunity to make their case.
