Ardoch Algonquins respond the Queen’s report into indigenous identity

Jeff Green | Aug 24, 2022

“‘GII-IKIDONAANIWAN’ • ‘IT HAS BEEN SAID’” is the title of a report that was prepared by First Peoples Group, an indigenous advisory group for Queen’s University.

The report was submitted to Queen’s on July 8 and was subsequently accepted in principle by Queen’s.

At the beginning of the report, First Peoples Group (FPG) says that it was “contracted in the fall of 2021 to help guide conversations concerning Indigenous identity in light of recent public discussions and information released surrounding the identity of several individuals teaching at Queen’s.”

The next sentence reveals the conclusion that FPG came to regarding these individuals.

“This paper entitled “Investigation into false claims to Indigenous identity at Queen’s University” will be referred to as ‘the document’.”

Among other things, the report says that the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation is “not a first nation” but is instead a not-for-profit corporation registered in Ontario. This assertion is relevant to the report because the report was commissioned on the basis of a controversy within Queen’s stemming from the fact that 7 members of its Indigenous Studies department are members of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation.

“Our work is directly related to the individuals named in the document, several who claim to be members of this group. Ardoch is not a First Nation despite it positioning itself as such. It is a legally incorporated not for profit registered in Ontario as Ardoch First Nation Community Services Corporation and this is also its legal name … It should be understood that members of any Indigenous community living in a place they do not traditionally come from may choose to call themselves by any name or title. But we heard passionately that unless they come from the nation on which the territory they are living and further, unless they have been granted the authority by their nation to speak on behalf of and enact and conduct any protocols, ceremonies and laws, they simply are and remain an urban Indigenous organization and cannot grant or imply citizenship equals Indigenous identity or assume any roles including Elders, Councils and related terms.”

The report also says that in the future Queen’s should look to the four Indian Act Status communities in the region surrounding Kingston for guidance about claims to indigenous ancestry.

“It does need to be recognized that any singular First Nation, or citizens of these nations do not speak for all. Regarding this particular issue, we have suggested that Queen’s University begin a dialogue with the following four First Nations on whose territory overlaps the geographical location upon which Queen’s is located; Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Alderville First Nation, the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg. We make this suggestion knowing full well that these nations do not speak for all Haudenosaunee nor all Anishinaabe.”

In their response to the FPG report, released on July 26, the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation “AAFN” challenged the characterization of their community in the FPG report, and the assertion that only the communities that are recognised in the Indian Act should be consulted about indigenous identity.

“The authors of the report ignored the actual Ardoch Algonsuion FN community and instead, focussed their attack on an entity called the “Ardoch Community Services Corporation”, which is merely a now dormant corporation set up decades ago for fundraising purposes and which has never been in any sense a governance representation of the community”

The AFFN response says that the “report authors also make the bizarre and completely unsubstantiated claim that only Indian Act bands can be First Nations.” The response goes on to say that FPG ignored “the fact that there are actually man non-status indigenous communities recognised as First Nations in Canada,” including at least seven other non-status Algonquin First Nation communities that are recognised by the governments of Ontario and Canada, and by other Algonquin Communities.”

Later the AAFN response names the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, based near Sharbot Lake, and the other communities that have been part of the negotiating table of the Ontario Algonquin Land Claim along with the council of Pickwakanagan First Nation for the past 20 years.

The AAFN response calls the First People’s Group report “grievously ill informed and inaccurate” and says it is a “vicious and libelous attack on a small indigenous community which does not have the resources to defend itself. It is troubling that Queen’s administration has apparently already prosied and accepted this report”.

AAFN spokesperson Mireille Lapointe told the Frontenac News, in a telephone interview, that Frist Peoples’ Group did not contact them directly during the research phase of their work that lead to the preparation of the report they prepared for Queen’s, and referred to the community website, aafna.ca, for information about how they operate as a community.

Under the membership tab on AAFNA.ca, it says that the “business of the AAFN is conducted by a “Family Head Council, which is formed by representatives of core AAFN Families.”

In order to be an AAFN member of person must be of “of Algonquin descent and a member of a recognised family and has by consensus been accepted by Family Heads Council” or the person is a recognised spouse of an AAFN or a recognised adopted child of an AAFN member, with the consent of Family Heads Council”

After the AAFN response to “‘GII-IKIDONAANIWAN’ • ‘IT HAS BEEN SAID’” was submitted to Queen’s University on July 26, Chris Reid, lawyer for AAFN, received an email from Lisa Newton, University Counsel for Queen’s.

In the email, Newton says that “Queen’s University acknowledges its long standing relationship with the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation and its faculty from Ardoch. The university’s statement that it accepted the FPG Report “in principle” was not intended to disrupt those relationships. Rather, the intention was to generally accept the report for what it is. That is, a qualitative report reflecting feedback received through an extensive consultation process and recommendations for Queen’s based on that feedback.”

Newton’s letter goes on to say that Queen’s will sone be establishing an Indigenous Oversite Council to study the FPG report and provide recommendations for a “respectful path forward”. She said the AAFn response will be provided to the council to inform their work.

The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation is so named because of its formation in the 1980’s in the wake of a successful effort by the Perry family of Ardoch to prevent commercial harvesting of a wild rice stand on Ardoch Lake. The Perry family, led by the late Harold Perry, claim that the rice was brought to the lake by members of the Alderville First Nation early in the 20th century, and had been cultivated and harvested annually by the Perry family, who trace their Algonquin descent to the Whiteduck family, since then. The plan to harvest the rice commercially, which was supported by the Ontario government through the Ministry of Natural Resources at the time, was thwarted by the Perry’s with support from the local community after a stand-off with police, the MNR, and company officials who were attempting to launch a rice harvesting boat on the lake. The incident, nicknamed the Rice War, is commemorated in plaque that was installed by the Township of North Frontenac in consultation with AAFN elders on the bridge at the hamlet of Ardoch, near the junction of Ardoch Road and Hwy. 506.

AAFN leadership was involved with the Algonquin Land Claim in the early 1990’s. AAFN left the land claim table in 1994, citing political differences. Leadership from AAFN remained involved, in an informal way, with the land claim process until at least 2004, when the current formal negotiation table was established. Randy Malcom, who had been representing AAFN at the land claim table, became the representative of an alternate Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, which included former members of AAFN who wished to remain involved in the land claim and be represented by Malcolm. They decided to change their name to the Snimikobe (Beaver Creek) First Nation to avoid confusion, and Randy Malcolm remains the Algonquin Nation Representative of the Snimikobe to the Algonquin land claim negotiations to this day.

AAFN members occupied a provincial boat launch at Pine Lake, on Ardoch Road, in 2006, with the intention of establishing a community centre. In 2008, the AAFN took a leading role, with the Shabot Obaadjiwan, of the former Robertsville mine site in North Frontenac, which was the access point for uranium exploration by Frontenac Ventures Mining Corporation.

The occupation led to a court injunction, resulting in charges being laid against AAFN and Shabot Obaadjiwan leaders in the spring of 2009, after the occupation was over. The court case came down to a court order that individuals named in the case accept an undertaking to stay away from the mine site, with the threat of an indefinite jail term, until they agreed to the undertaking. Shabot Obaadfiwan Chief Doreen Davis accepted the undertaking, as did Harold Perry and Paula Sherman from AAFN. Bob Lovelace, the third member of the AAFN who was charged, refused the undertaking, and was incarcerated for several months until he was released after his conviction was appealed.

The Frontenac Ventures mining claims have since lapsed and the land is no longer eligible for staking, and is part of a proposed provincial park that is centred on Crotch Lake in North Frontenac.

AAFN has been less active politically in recent years than it was before the Robertsville occupation, but they do harvest rice and conduct a Manomin Keesis (Wild Rice) ceremony in the late summer/early fall each year at Ardoch Lake.