Photos: Algonquin Sharing Day in Maberly

A group of 30 gathered at the Maberly hall on June 25 for a day of Algonquin sharing organized by Dr. Lynn Gehl. The first event of its kind to be held in Maberly, the day included a number of panel discussions led by a roster of academic speakers on topics ranging from the Algonquin Land Claim and self government, the South March Highlands, education, identity, the Treaty at Niagara Wampum Belt Exchange and much, much more. The day also included a potluck feast and the event attracted all kinds of interested members of the community aboriginal and not from near and far.

I arrived near the end of the day just in time for Dr. Gehl's talk on Wampum diplomacy and her presentation of her very own Wampum bundle. She spoke of the symbolic significance of her three Wampum belts; the British and Western Great Lakes Confederacy Belt, the Two Road Wampum Belt and the 24 Nations Wampum Belt. All three demonstrate the Algonquin tradition of symbolic literacy and represent artifacts that date back to the Treaty of Niagara in 1764, where the Royal Proclamation of 1763 was ratified, and which Dr. Gehl described as Canada's first constitutional document and a good example of what came to be known as forked tongue diplomacy.

A second panel discussed the topic “Protecting the Land” and focused on the South March Highlands, located on unceded Algonquin land near Kanata. The lands have recently have been the site of much controversy and protests when developers began cutting down the conservation forest there. Grandfather William Commanda, the 97-year-old spiritual elder for Algonquins in Ontario, has declared the area sacred. Currently, various community groups along with members of the Algonquin community are protesting the cutting, declaring it as “violence against nature”.

Daniel Bernard Amikwbe, who helped organize the Algonquin Sharing Day, said the topic took up a good deal of discussion at the Maberly event because “it represents a pivotal point for Algonquin people right now.”

Bonita Lawrence, a professor of indigenous studies at York University, spoke about her project on Algonquin identity, which will be published next year under the title “Fractured Homeland; Identity and Survival in Federally Unrecognized Algonquin Communities in Ontario”. Over a period of seven years, Lawrence interviewed Algonquins across the territory about their views on homeland and identity.

Also in attendance at the event was Mireille Lapointe, co-chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, who teaches Algonquin studies at the high school level and who weighed in on the discussion about “Decolonizing Education”. “Education is very important and up to this point we have always had the colonizers’ model of education and history. But that is slowly changing which is something I never thought I'd see. Now not only are Aboriginal studies becoming more mainstream in Ontario, but also a lot of the books being written are by indigenous people; so not only is it important that these courses continue be funded but what is more is that the teachers themselves be educated in indigenous issues at the college level as well.”

Marcello Saavedra Vargas of the Quechua-Aymara nation of South America, who is a professor of Aboriginal studies at Ottawa University, also attended the event to learn more about the Anishnabe people and came as an ambassador of his people. He was very interested in the teaching of the Wampum diplomacy and the Wampum belts and said, “Oral traditions are very important for indigenous people because we feel that oral forms keep knowledge alive and vibrant. The moment you put knowledge in written form in a way you are killing the spirit of that knowledge.”

Dr. Gehl's aim for the Day of Sharing was “to share Algonquin knowledge and the research that is being produced in the academy with Algonquin people and also to ensure that academics are working with Algonquins for our cause not just their own cause. We want to start a dialogue and it is important for Algonquin scholars to make allies with other scholars as well.”

Dr. Gehl surpassed that goal and it looks as though there will more Algonquin Days of Sharing in the future.

Municipal officials receive information about ‘land package’ at closed door meeting

On Thursday, October 25, a closed door meeting was held with municipal officials from Frontenac County and Addington Highlands Township at the Sharbot Lake Legion about a potential lands package as part of land claim negotiations. A second meeting was scheduled for Monday, October 29. The meetings were held as part of the consultation process surrounding the pending Agreement in Principle for the Algonquin Land Claim in Ontario.

Attempts to talk to any of the federal or provincial, or Algonquin officials who participated in those meetings concerning the current state of negotiations yielded the following e-mail response from Flavio Mussio of the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in Toronto: “There will not be anyone available to speak to the media as they are not public meetings.”

One of the goals of the meeting, according to Mussio, was to receive information from municipal politicians and staff about any local plans for road expansion that might impact on the lands under discussion for transfer as part of the land claim.

Previous information provided by the Ontario chief negotiator, Brian Crane, established that all land transfers that will flow from the claim will be on a fee simple basis, meaning the Algonquin jurisdiction over their lands will the same as any other landowner in Ontario.

Mussio’s email message went on to discuss future opportunities for public input into the land claim process.

“Once these negotiations have progressed, more information about any potential lands package will be made public. The public engagement process is a consistent part of our policy in settling land claims … Ontario’s consultations with stakeholders and the public will expand and continue as the negotiations proceed. Public information will continue to be available through negotiators’ updates; material on the Ontario website; through the Ontario Information Centre on the Algonquin Land Claim in Pembroke; and through other means. The negotiating parties also intend to hold regional public information forums to discuss the proposed content of a draft agreement-in-principle with members of the public.”

Negotiators from all sides have answered media inquiries about the claim on a regular basis, but there have been no meetings for the general public thus far in the process, which got underway in 1992.

On Saturday, October 27, Bonita Lawrence, whose research into Algonquin communities led her to the publication of “Fractured Homelands”, the most comprehensive account of contemporary Algonquin communities in Frontenac County and the surrounding region, will deliver the keynote address at a free, all-day symposium being hosted by the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation at St. James Catholic Church in Sharbot Lake.

Bob Lovelace, one of the organizers of the symposium, said that bringing acadamic researchers and thinkers to a public forum to talk about topical Algonquin issues that are of interest to the entire community is something he has wanted to do for a while.

“Ardoch has always been involved with university and college people who have worked with us to do research. Way back in the early ’80s, during the Rice Wars, we asked researchers from Carleton in Ottawa and Queens in Kingston to help us with biology, sociology, and legal issues. Over the years we have been studied and we have conducted our own studies. Most of this has been directed at helping us preserve Algonquin jurisdiction. Recently we decided that it was time to make this a community discussion, to bring it into our community and share the experience of knowledge gathering with our neighbors and friends,” said Lovelace.

A couple of months ago, the Ardoch Algonquins put a call out for presenters, both from the academic and local communities. What has resulted is a mixed program that will begin with a panel discussion at 9:30 am featuring Marci Webster, Susan Delisle and Regina Hartwick, all of whom have local connections. The discussion they will contribute to will deal with community well-being and education.

After a break, writer Tom Pawlick will talk about food security and modern rural life, the subject matter of his most recent book: "The War in the Country – How the Fight to Save Rural Life Will Shape our Future".

After lunch, Bonita Lawrence will deliver her address, followed by a discussion. The final panel of the day is called Certain Futures. It includes David Welch from the University of Ottawa, who will talk about uranium exploration in Frontenac County; Paul McCarney from Trent who will talk about another topical subject, resource management decisions on indigenous territories as an issue of original jurisdiction; and Bob Lovelace from Canoe Lake and Queen’s, whose subject is re-indigenizing the Commons.

Mireille Lapointe, who teaches the Aboriginal studies course at St. John’s High School in Perth, will moderate the event.

Bob Lovelace has some specific goals for the symposium.

“I am hoping that we foster a better understanding between people. In the community, I am hoping that Algonquin and Settler folks will get to know each other better. I am hoping that the academic folks get to know us rural and indigenous people better. I really hope that when people from here walk on a university campus they don’t feel strange or out-of-place. I am hoping that young people in the community come to the symposium to learn what people are doing at university and decide they might want to join the action. I guess I just want to have a really good day,” he said.

There is no fee for the symposium. The doors of St. James Church Hall will open at 9 am on October 27, and the symposiums runs until 4 pm.

The Algonquin Land Claim, which according to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs is headed towards the completion of an Agreement in Principle (AIP) by the end of this year, has attracted media attention in Toronto.

The claim, which encompasses 1/6 of the land mass in southern Ontario - home to 1.4 million permanent and seasonal residents - has been negotiated under the radar for 20 years.

As the negotiations have progressed over the last 2 or 3 years, there have been simmering concerns among some Algonquin individuals and groups, as has been noted in these pages. At the same time interest groups such as the Ontario Federation of Anglers, Ducks Unlimited, the Federation of Cottage Associations, and Land O’Lakes Tourist Association among a host of others, as well as representatives from affected municipalities, have all privately expressed their own concerns. Forums that have been set up to inform and consult with interest groups and municipalities in the territory have not mollified many of the concerns about the impact of the claim.

This view was expressed last week on Fish’n Canada, a weekly show on The Fan radio station in Toronto. Phil Morlock, from the Canadian Sports Fishing Industry Association, described the meetings as “classroom lectures rather than consultation.”

Kathleen Wynne, the Ontario Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, was interviewed earlier on in the program. She identified herself as a canoe camper with a long family history in Algonquin Park, and said she was “one of you guys”, identifying herself with the fishing and hunting enthusiasts that are the target market for the radio show.

Not only did Wynne reiterate that the Land Claim will not affect private land or Algonquin Park, she also said there will be ample opportunity for public consultation as the claim moves forward, and that she will be available for interviews as well.

Phil Morlock countered that his group sent a series of questions about the claim to the ministry over a year ago and has not received a response.

Morlock also said he is suspicious that the promise about excluding the park from the claim is less than it seems. He claimed that even though, in order to protect the trout fishery in the park, winter fishing is not permitted, there are Algonquins who take trout during the winter but officials with the government have never taken action.

Fish’n Canada will be following the land claim now, and will have an interview with Michael Gravelle, the Minister of Natural Resources, in an upcoming show.

Podcasts of the one-hour weekly shows are available at fishncanada.com.

This summer, confidential meetings are taking place to apprise municipal officials and some other stakeholders about some specific parcels of land. These lands are to be included in an agreement in principle for the Ontario Algonquin Land Claim, an agreement that is slated to be completed in 2013, according to the federal, provincial, and Algonquin negotiating teams.

As we have outlined in these pages, the Algonquin Land Claim process is an anomaly among Canadian land claims in its inclusion of communities of Algonquin individuals whose aboriginal heritage has have never been recognized by the Canadian government. The land claim process itself is the only official recognition these people have and only with the culmination of the process in a treaty will any kind of formal designation as aboriginal peoples be realized.

As the Algonquin Land Claims process has proceeded since 1991, in all its fits and starts, it has both created interest among Algonquin's in their heritage, and created divisions and bitter disagreement as groups have come together and split apart, often over the direction the land claims processes has been proceeding.

At the same time questions about the history of Algonquin peoples in Ontario and Quebec have lingered. What was Algonquin Culture along the Kiji Sibi (now Ottawa) river watershed before the French came in the 1600's? What happened after that? How can a land claim that splits Algonquin territory into two along the very river that was the Center of Algonquin heritage and political power and settles only with the remaining population on one side be legitimate in the eyes of Algonquin's and Canadians in general?

As the Algonquin land claim heads towards it conclusion, Bonita Lawrence, an Associate Professor in the Department of Equity Studies at York University where she teaches Indigenous Studies, is releasing Fractured Homeland – Federal recognition and Algonquin identity in Ontario.

The book is the culmination of 7 years of research, and represents an extension of Lawrence's academic and personal interest in urban aboriginal identity and fragmentation, which was the subject of her PHD thesis and an earlier book.

Fractured Homeland provides a historical background to Algonquin history and governance and, and interviews with a number of the people involved in the development of the land claims process, and those communities who would like to see the claim abandoned altogether.

It also contains sections on Algonquin communities in Frontenac County and on some of the politics around the land claim in this region and others as well.

Fractured Homelands will be having its official launch in Ottawa on August 11 at the Minwaashin Lodge at 24 Catherine Street. For further information, go to Ipsmo.org.

(In a future edition, the News will look more closely at Fractured Homeland and its implications to the oncoming debate over the Algonquin Land Claim.

Photo: Life memberships were presented to Tom and Eileen Christenson to mark their 15-year long commitment to delivering Meals on Wheels

When Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) decided to hold their 37th Annual General Meeting at the Ompah hall, there were concerns that the turnout would suffer, as the Ompah hall is on the northern edge of the agency's foot print. (NFCS shares responsibility for North Frontenac Township with Land O’Lakes Community Services, which covers most of Barrie ward).

But when Pam Giroux got up to deliver her keynote address to the meeting it was to packed hall. Representatives from other agencies, officials from funding agencies and governments, board members and local supporters alike had made their way to Ompah for the meeting.

Pam Giroux’s comments touched on one of the unique aspects of the NFCS basket of services, the Aboriginal education program for preschoolers and primary grade students that is run by Marcie Asselstine.

The program grew out of Marcie’s interest in exploring her own roots in Algonquin culture. As a childhood educator at the Child Centre at NFCS, Marcie has been encouraged, first by former Executive Director Sue Leslie, and now by current Executive Director Don Amos, to develop an Aboriginal theme to the programming that is delivered to playgroups that the Child Centre runs in communities across Frontenac County.

At first Marcie was given one day a week to run an Aboriginal playgroup, but over the years bits of money have been found to expand the program, and now she is working almost full time on the Aboriginal program, which is now delivered in the school system as well.

When Pam Giroux moved to Sharbot Lake from Toronto in the 1960s to teach at Sharbot Lake High School, she knew little about Aboriginal culture. Over the years as a teacher and mother of four in the local area, she became exposed to Algonquin culture through some of the efforts of the Manomin Keesis group in the 1980s and early 1990s. About 10 years ago she went to a workshop where she was re-acquainted with some of the people from Manomin Keesis and was introduced to drumming. Out of that workshop a group of women drummers and singers started up, eventually becoming known as “Sisters of the Drum”. The Sisters have been performing ever since, locally and regionally, at gatherings of all kinds, from Pow Wows to Remembrance Day Ceremonies and the Strawberry Moon festivals that are held each year to mark the end of the NFCS Aboriginal program. All of these experiences have exposed Pam Giroux, who does not have any blood connection to the Algonquin community, to a raft of Algonquin cultural practices and traditions.

“My journey on the red road has certainly been an enriching experience,” she told the audience at the NFCS AGM.

She also recounted an experience that she remembers from her parenting days, when one of her sons asked why other students in his class had called him a frog, because his last name was Giroux.

“I told him that he was of French Canadian descent, that he was not a frog, and he never mentioned it again. It does show what can be said in schoolyards, however, and I remember that in those years very few of the kids in the local schools talked about their native heritage.

“But now, thanks to Marcie’s Aboriginal program, kids come forward and say ‘I have native blood’, my family is Algonquin’ – it develops a pride in heritage and brings an end to prejudice. This makes me more optimistic about the future,” said Pam Giroux.

The NFCS Aboriginal Program is one of the smallest that is run by the agency, which spends about $2 million each year on programming for all ages. It delivers children and youth programming throughout Frontenac, and Adult and Senior Programming in Central and North Frontenac.

As part of the AGM, Executive Director Don Amos presented staff recognition awards to Charity Garey (Youth Co-ordinator), to mark 5 years of service; Megan Hughes (Data Analysis Co-ordinator), Lisa Hamilton and Jennifer Morin (Early Childhood Educators), 10 years; and Kevin Raison (Family Counsellor) 15 years.

Life memberships were presented to Tom and Eileen Christenson to mark their 15-year long commitment to delivering Meals on Wheels.

Tom and Eileen have moved to Perth in recent years, but they still travel to Sharbot Lake to deliver meals each and every week.

This time, they really seem to mean it.

Land Claim negotiators Brian Crane (Government of Ontario), Robert Potts (Algonquins of Ontario) and the new kid on the block, Ron Doering (Government of Canada), said last week that they expect that up to 9,000 Algonquin descendants will be voting on an Agreement in Principle (AIP) in early 2013.

Robert Potts, a Toronto-based lawyer who has been the chief negotiator for the Algonquins of Ontario since 2005, said there has been steady progress in negotiations over the last couple of years.

“We've done very well in the time we've spent working on this. We are forging ahead and we are doing it in a very business-like fashion. We are not playing games,” Potts said.

Brian Crane, a senior partner with the Ottawa law firm Gowlings, has been the representative to the Government of Ontario to the negotiations for about 15 years. He said that a ratification vote could take place as early as next winter.

The comments were made at a briefing session for the media that took place in Perth on May 9, just before the negotiators held a closed meeting with municipal representatives.

The negotiations have taken 20 years to proceed to this point. The Algonquin Land Claim is unique in Canada in a couple of ways. Unlike virtually all other claims process, in this case there is no existing historical treaty to refer to. Secondly, the 36,000 square kilometre territory, which encompasses the entire Ottawa River watershed on the Ontario side as well as a portion of the Mattawa River watershed, is home to over a million people.

Quite apart from the negotiations with the provincial and federal governments, the Algonquins have dealt with internal challenges. The land claims process was frozen between 2001 and 2003 because the Algonquin communities were not in a position to have a unified presence at the land claim table.

Eventually an internal accommodation was reached among the Algonquins, although it has left a number of opposing groups out of the process. The entire seven-member council of the Pikwàkanagàn Algonquin First Nation sit as Algonquin Nation Representatives (ANR) at the negotiating table. Pikwàkanagàn is the only Algonquin reserve on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River, and its members have native status under the Canada Indian Act. The other nine identified Algonquin communities, which are scattered throughout the land claim territory, are made up of people who are for the most part “non-status” Algonquins as far as the Indian Act is concerned.

In 2005 the Pikwàkanagàn leadership agreed that for the purpose of negotiating the claim, anyone who could demonstrate they are a direct descendant of one of the people on a list of some 1,500 names would be eligible to join one of the Algonquin communities and vote for an ANR to represent them at the negotiating table. Those names were drawn from census and other information that dates back to the mid or late 19th century,

In Perth last week, Robert Potts confirmed that these electors will also be beneficiaries once the Algonquin Land Claim is settled, and that there will only be one class of beneficiary. Pikwàkanagàn members, for example, will not receive any extra benefits.

An updated electors' list is being developed, and Potts said that there might be as many as 9,000 people who will be eligible for a ratification vote on the Agreement in Principle next year. New criteria have been added to the “direct descendancy” requirement, including “demonstrating a cultural and social connection with an Algonquin community, and demonstrating they have a life event connection with the territory,” said Potts.

“We realize these additional criteria are less clearly defined than direct descendancy, which requires genealogical proof, but we wanted to make sure that all the people who are involved at this point have some previous stake in the territory in addition to their genealogical connection,” he added.

Electors may identify with an Algonquin community that is not participating in the land claim negotiations, opening up the door for members of a number of communities who have walked away from the talks to vote on the Agreement in Principle.

While all of the elements of the agreement were not divulged in Perth last week, the negotiators confirmed that the deal will include a number of parcels of so-called Crown land that are currently under the purview of the Government of Ontario, as well as a cash settlement. There will be no self-government provisions over the land that is transferred; the Algonquin ownership will be the same as that of any other landowner, and the land will be subject to municipal taxation.

Benefits will not flow directly to individuals or even the local Algonquin communities, such as the Shabot Obaadjiwan or the Snimikobe, the two communities with signifigant membership from our local region.

The money and land will go to an “Algonquin Nation Trust” Potts said, which will likely be administered out of Pembroke, where the Algonquins of Ontario consultation office was set up a couple of years ago.

“Settlement lands are usually transferred to a single organization,” said Brian Crane.

The specific pieces of land that will be transferred have not been finalized, but “I would say we have done a lot of extensive work internally and we are now in the process of starting to discuss possible land selections,” said Crane.

The claim will solidify hunting, fishing and other harvesting rights that have been covered by interim agreements over the past number of years, but Robert Potts confirmed that aside from the lands that are to be transferred, forestry and mining rights throughout the territory will be retained by the government of Ontario.

“Forestry and mining rights are essentially commercial rights” said Brian Crane. “We have already developed a consultation process in relation to mining. Algonquin entrepreneurs are already in the forestry industry and want to continue to develop forestry on Algonquin lands, and a large proportion of the lands that might be available to them through the process are forestry lands,”.

“Settling the Algonquin claim will be very good for Eastern Ontario,” said Potts. “It will bring certainty for everyone involved. It will bring economic development for everyone involved as well. All of the money that will be part of the settlement will flow into the territory. And it will also be an opportunity to begin a process of reconciliation.”

Not so for the Algonquins residing in Quebec, apparently.

Quebec Algonquins to oppose Ontario settlement by Jeff Green

Algonquin history is tied in with the Kichi Sipi, "the Great River of the Algonquins", which we now call the Ottawa River. It is no coincidence that the land claim territory that is being negotiated by the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) is the Ontario section of the Ottawa River Valley. The valley extends, of course, to the other side of the river, the Quebec side, and on the Quebec side there are nine ‘status’ Algonquin communities.

Chief Gilbert Whiteduck, of the largest of those communities, the Kitigan Zibi, most of whom live on a 45,000 acre reserve located near Maniwaki, Quebec, has some serious concerns about the potential settlement of the Ontario land claim.

“The first thing I would say is that I acknowledge the reasons why the Pikwàkanagàn Council is pursuing this land claim in the manner that they are. We share many ties, including family ties, with Pikwàkanagàn, and they are working to bring improvements to their communities. What concerns us, however, is that any settlement made in Ontario could impact on our rights on that same territory,” he said in a telephone interview this week.

Chief Whiteduck said that when land claims have been settled in the past they have invariably extinguished the rights of any other claimants to those territories, and “The letters we have received about the Ontario claim indicate that our rights will be compromised.”

Last year, Whiteduck presented a map of Algonquin territory to the federal government, a map that encompassed a large swath of land, 650,000 acres, in Ontario and Quebec.

“We presented that map not as part of any land claim, but in order to reaffirm our territory.”

Whiteduck is also concerned about the inclusion of claimants who are “not formally recognised under the Indian Act” in the Ontario claim.

“As far as I know there is no limit on these claimants; they could be 15th generations descendants,” he said.

Bob Potts, the chief negotiator for the Algonquins of Ontario, made a presentation to the Kitigan Zibi, and the inclusion of non-status Algonquins in the land claim was addressed at that meeting.

“Mr. Potts said that in essence they had been denied for decades and decades the benefits that people have received who are living on an Indian reserve. That did not get a great reaction from our people, because reserves have brought a lot of negative things along with them,” said Whiteduck.

“I don’t want to deny anyone their claims, and we acknowledge people's descendancy, but we are very worried that we will lose our rights if this claim is settled. We’ve had a look at the treaty, and we have tremendous concerns. When and how we will intervene, we don’t know, but we will intervene somehow.”

In the process of building Canada, the British imposed different languages (French and English), religions (Catholic and Protestant), and legal systems (French Civil Law and British Common Law) on the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation and consequently divided us into two entities.

While what is Canada today consists of several provinces and two territories, in its early stages Canada consisted of Upper and Lower Canada, which are now the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. During the early stages of European exploration the main mode of transportation into the land mass we know as Turtle Island was what is now known as the Ottawa River.

The Algonquin bands located on both sides of the river were some of the first Nations recorded by Champlain so you can be sure that the French and British knew full well who we were. During European struggles for new land the Algonquin Anishinaabeg were allies with the French. For this, we were severely punished when the British eventually took over.

Members of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation were constitutional delegates during the 1764 Treaty at Niagara where Canada's four original constitutional documents were exchanged: the 1763 Royal Proclamation, the British and Western Great Lakes Covenant Chain Confederacy Wampum Belt, the Twenty-Four Nations Wampum Belt, and the Two Row Wampum Belt.

Following Creator's law, Indigenous Nations agreed they would share with the European Nations. These documents also collectively codify respect for Indigenous nations' jurisdiction and our right to land and resources; as well as codify the continued need to polish and work on our relationship with one another.

Regardless of the Algonquin Anishinaabe participation at the Treaty at Niagara, afterwards British Canada ignored our endless petitions for land and resources. This went on for centuries as the Algonquin submitted over twenty eight petitions asking that our right to land and resources be respected as outlined during the Treaty at Niagara. Regardless of this long time effort, members of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation were relegated to the margins. Yes, that is right; we were undesirable in the British eyes.

Historical records expose that British Canada argued an Algonquin Anishinaabeg settlement made adjacent land undesirable for the arriving British settlers. In 1853, through The Public Lands Act, our land was granted free to European settlers. Again in 1868, through The Free Grant and Homestead Act, our land was granted free to European settlers. The Algonquin, though, were not entitled. What is more, in 1927, Canada made it illegal for us to hire lawyers to carry our grievances for land and resources forward.

In 1864 the Algonquin living in Upper Canada were provided with the Golden Lake reserve while all further requests for land were then denied as we were told to go to Golden Lake. Of course many Algonquin opted to remain on their land where they existed long before settlers arrived. Regardless of this effort, many Algonquin lost their land when they continued to live by natural law leaving the land in the winter to hunt, as well as when they could not pay land taxes imposed as they remained within a subsistence versus the wage economy; or because they preferred to allow the animal beings to exist as the Creator intended them to be rather than farm the land as Europeans did.

To further punish the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation we were also denied during the historic treaty process. In 1923, Canada once again ignored our participation in the 1764 Treaty at Niagara when our land and resources were identified under the terms of the Williams Treaty, yet we were not present during the negotiation process.

Eventually, after generations of petitions and only after we were in a particularly pitiful state of poverty and division, Canada entered into a land claims and self-government negotiation process with the Algonquin of Golden Lake, now Algonquin of Pikwàkanàgan First Nation. In this process only the Algonquin living in Ontario are involved, where through this process all Indian status members, approximately 1,800 members, are accepted as beneficiaries. So too are the approximately 6,000 non-status Algonquin accepted as beneficiaries.

Through two federal government policies -- the Comprehensive Land Claims Policy and the Inherent Rights Policy -- our jurisdiction, land, and land related rights are not protected but rather continue to be denied and placed within the confines of a small box. Through these policies Canada has imposed on us what it thinks we are entitled to: a very small percentage of our traditional territory and a one-time buy-out. This deal was tabled in November 2012. Clearly 117,000 acres which amounts to only 1.3 per cent of our traditional territory and $300 million is a bad deal.

This clearly violates the agreement codified in Canada's constitutional documents exchanged during the Treaty at Niagara. It is precisely for this reason that Russell Diabo refers to the current ninety three land claims and self-government so called negotiation tables as "self-termination tables." I agree, and that is why I, in part, paint my face black.

Dr. Lynn Gehl is an Algonquin Anishinaabe-kwe from the Ottawa River Valley. She has a section 15 Charter challenge regarding the continued sex discrimination in The Indian Act, she is an outspoken critic of the Ontario Algonquin land claims and self-government process, and she recently published a book titled Anishinaabeg Stories: Featuring Petroglyphs, Petrographs, and Wampum Belts. You can reach her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and see more of her work at www.lynngehl.com.

The Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) have been conducting an information/public relations campaign of late. They have been re-assuring nervous municipal officials, hunting and cottage groups, as well as neighbouring landowners, that the Draft Agreement in Principle for the Algonquin Land Claim will not cause undue harm to their various and varied interests.

As part of that campaign three meetings with municipal and provincial representatives were held. One of them was held at the Civitan Hall in Perth on June 3. Robert Potts, a lawyer with Blaney McMurtry in Toronto who is the lead negotiator for the AOO, spoke at the meeting

“From the start of the process, 22 years ago, the Algonquins have been trying to find solutions. That’s why they said Algonquin Park would remain a park right from the start, and that they would leave privately held land alone. They will bring the same spirit to finding solutions to problems that arise from the agreement,” Potts said.

North Frontenac Councilor Fred Perry, who attended the meeting, asked how municipalities are going to cover the added cost of providing fire, ambulance, and other services to some of the remote lands that are going to be transferred.

“As Crown lands they are covered by the MNR, but once they are transferred, it falls to us. I’m afraid that when all is said and done, the governments will disappear and leave us holding the bag,” said Perry.

“Well, the Algonquins aren’t going any where. They are going to be here, as neighbours, and as neighbours they will have to work out arrangements with the municipalities, with the loggers, with everyone,” Potts replied.

He said that the AOO is hoping to bring the Draft Agreement in Principle to a vote by the end of 2013. That will be followed by a four to five year process towards a final treaty, which will give the Algonquins time to work on developing a governance and administrative structure to handle the financial and land aspects of the deal, which calls for a $300 million cash transfer and a 117,500 acre land transfer.

“The money will be a tax free payment. It will be held in trust and invested, so the amount will grow over time,” Potts said.

After the formal meeting was over, Bob Potts was available for short interviews.

It was then that he revealed that the appeals process for Algonquin electors has been completed, and in one of the largest appeals, the ruling by Former Justice Chadwick, who was hired to conduct the process and make rulings, is that the descendants of Simon Jude Bedard and Simon Gene Bedard do not meet the criteria of direct Algonquin descent and will therefore be removed from the voters’ list. They will also not be eligible as beneficiaries to the final settlement.

The implications of this to the membership of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation are large. Roughly 500 of the 750 members of the Shabot Obaadjiwan are descended from the Bedard line.

Well-known Aboriginal families in the Sharbot Lake area such as the Badour, Cota, and Hollywood families are no longer included in the Algonquin Land Claim.

For years there have been questions about the heritage of families in the area. Cathie Sharbot Duchene, a descendant of Francis Sharbot, for whom Sharbot Lake was named, claims that the ancestry of her family is Mohawk, as did Crow Lake historian Lloyd Jones.

James Meness is a member of the Council of the Pikwàkanagàn First Nation and the land claim negotiating team. He launched the appeal of the Bedard line.

We called two of the people on the voters’ list, and they said they have not yet received notification of the decision.

Coincidentally, they also both said they did not feel they had lost any of their legitimacy as Aboriginal people through the decision by the appeals committee, even if it means they no longer are electors or beneficiaries of the land claim.

A phone call to Shabot Obaadjiwan Chief Doreen Davis on Tuesday morning was not returned before press time. 

Algonquins Of Ontario Launch Information Campaign

by Jeff Green

Ever since the draft Agreement in Principle (AIP) for the Algonquin Land Claim was released at the tail end of 2012, there have been two competing streams of information coming out to the public about the land claim and the AIP.

Officials from the two governments involved, particularly the government of Ontario, have been putting a positive spin on the agreement, while a coalition of groups including the Federation of Ontario Cottage Associations (FOCA), and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) have been critical of the agreement, pointing out a number of grey areas that are open to varying interpretations.

Among the harshest of the criticisms is that the consultations with outside groups prior to the release of the AIP seem to have had no impact on the document that was released in December of 2012.

At public events organized by FOCA/OFAH the organizers took pains to point out that the concerns they have are directed towards the governments involved and not the Algonquins. However, at meetings organized by both the Government of Ontario and the FOCA/OFAH coalition, a number of the speakers have made highly critical, sometimes inflammatory remarks about members of the Algonquin community.

In recent weeks, municipal politicians in the territory have begun to meet and they have voiced their own concerns, mainly about the land dispensations that are included in the AIP within their jurisdictions.

As all of this has been going on, the First Nation at the centre of what has become a growing storm of dissent, has not spoken out as a group.

The Algonquins of Ontario are (AOO) made up of the Council of the Pikwakanagan First Nation and Algonquin Negotiation Representatives (ANRs) from 9 off-reserve (and non-status in relation to the Indian Act of Canada) Algonquin communities within the land claim territory. Among these communities are the Snimikobe and Shabot Obaadjiwan in our vicinity.

They have launched their own information campaign this month, which includes a series of articles (the first of which is reprinted below) as well as three meetings with politicians to be held over the next two weeks.

The Algonquin Land Claim – A Journey Of Reconciliation

by Robert Potts, principal negotiator and senior legal counsel for the Algonquins of Ontario

The Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) have reached a historic point on our journey of survival, rebuilding and self-sufficiency – a journey of reconciliation – and one that includes reaching out and building relationships with our neighbours within our traditional territory. This journey began nearly 250 years ago when the first Algonquin Petition was submitted to the Crown in 1772.

The Algonquins of Ontario claim includes an area of nine million acres within the watersheds of the Kichisippi (Ottawa River) and the Mattawa River in Ontario. Unlike most other First Nations, the AOO have never had a land surrender treaty with the Crown. There are currently more than 1.2 million people living and working within this unceded territory that covers most of Eastern Ontario, including the nation’s capital. There are also 85 municipal jurisdictions fully or partially located within the settlement area, including 76 lower and single tier municipalities and nine upper tier counties.

Algonquins have lived in present-day Ontario for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. Today, the AOO are comprised of ten Algonquin communities. These include the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation and the Algonquin communities of Antoine, Kijicho Manito Madaouskarini (Bancroft), Bonnechere, Greater Golden Lake, Mattawa/North Bay, Ottawa, Shabot Obaadjiwan (Sharbot Lake), Snimikobi (Ardoch) and Whitney and Area.

The ten communities are represented by 16 Algonquin Negotiation Representatives (ANRs) who are elected by Algonquin Voters for three-year terms. The ANRs include the chief and council of the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation and one representative from each of the nine other Algonquin communities.

Based on a protocol signed in 2004, these communities are working together to provide a unified approach to reach a settlement of the Algonquin land claim.

On December 13, 2012, the Preliminary Draft Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) was released.  The Preliminary Draft AIP is a culmination of many years of negotiations between the AOO, Canada and Ontario.  Our negotiations, beginning in 1991, continue to build on the determined efforts of the Algonquin people to be heard. It has been a long journey and it is far from over.

Elements of the Preliminary Draft AIP serve as key building blocks to: 1) reaffirm the honour and pride of the Algonquin people; 2) ensure the survival and prosperity of the Algonquin people and culture; 3) raise awareness and understanding about Algonquin history and culture; 4) stimulate cultural and economic development opportunities; and 5) achieve reconciliation of the relationships between the AOO and the Governments of Canada and Ontario.

As we continue our journey, the Algonquins of Ontario are united in our commitment to achieving a just and equitable settlement of this claim. We look forward to working together as neighbours in the spirit of reconciliation.

This column is the first in a biweekly series providing insights into Algonquin history, the foundation for the land claim, elements of the Preliminary Draft AIP and next steps in the journey. The next column will focus on the transfer of funds and the land component of the Preliminary Draft AIP. For more information visit www.tanakiwin.com.

Capital Transfer And Lands

by Robert Potts, principal negotiator and senior legal counsel for the Algonquins of Ontario

As the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) continue to work toward a modern day treaty, they look forward to a bright future of self-sufficiency, economic stability, and opportunities for current and future generations.

Key elements of the current Preliminary Draft Agreement-in-Principle (AIP), released on December 13, 2012 by the AOO, Ontario and Canada, include a capital transfer and land component. These elements are essential to build a long-term sustainable future for the Algonquin people, and respond to present day social, cultural and economic needs.

The Preliminary Draft AIP states that Canada and Ontario will transfer $300 million to one or more Algonquin Institutions, which will be Trusts established for the benefit of the Algonquin beneficiaries. These funds will be transferred in three payments over a two-year period starting on the Effective Date of the Final Agreement.

Income generated from the capital transfer will make a real and positive difference in the cultural and societal fabric of the Algonquin people by removing barriers for the creation of economic opportunities and social support programs. These funds will also lay a foundation for a rewarding and vibrant future for Algonquin youth by increasing employment opportunities and access to education and training.

The Algonquin Institutions that will receive, manage and invest this capital will be transparent and accountable to all Algonquin beneficiaries. The AOO will develop the governance structure, mandates and powers of these Institutions to ensure the most effective protection of all beneficiaries’ interests.

Land has been critical to the way of life for the Algonquins and will play an important role in the cultural recognition and future economic sustainability of the AOO. The Preliminary Draft AIP establishes that Ontario will transfer not less than 117,500 acres of Provincial Crown Land to one or more Algonquin Institutions. This lands package consists of more than 200 parcels of land ranging in size from a few acres to more than 30,000 acres.

The AOO’s proposed land selections were each chosen for the following purposes:

(a) Historical/Spiritual

(b) Community Recreation and Environmental Protection

(c) Economic Development, Resources, Tourist Commercial

(d) Future Institutional, Residential, Industrial Development

The Provincial Crown Land in the Settlement Area is 3.3 million acres. Nearly 2 million acres constitutes Provincial Parks, including Algonquin Park (1.8 million acres), where the AOO will have extensive management planning input. This leaves approximately 1.3 million acres of Provincial Crown Land to be considered for AOO land selections. The proposed lands package comprises approximately 4% of the Provincial Crown Land in the land claim Settlement Area.

Through the transfer of this land, existing access to cottages, private properties, or navigable waterways will not be lost or compromised, and no new First Nation reserves will be created.

A Treaty will provide economic development opportunities that will not only benefit the AOO, but will also provide a tremendous benefit to our neighbours living within Eastern Ontario.

This column is the second in a series providing insights into Algonquin history, the foundation for the land claim, elements of the Preliminary Draft AIP and next steps in the journey. The next column will focus on the Parks and Protected Areas component of the Preliminary Draft AIP. For more information visit www.tanakiwin.com.

Parks And Protected Areas

by Robert Potts, principal negotiator and senior legal counsel for the Algonquins of Ontario

The Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) have long held a way of life deeply rooted in conservation and ecological integrity. Environmental stewardship of land and resources has been an integral practice of the Algonquins since time immemorial.

With the release of the Preliminary Draft Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) in December 2012, the AOO once again reaffirmed their desire to work with their partners and neighbours to ensure that ecological integrity is the first priority in the management of Protected Areas, specifically Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves in the Settlement Area. The Preliminary Draft AIP proposes a number of elements to be reflected in a Final Agreement, some of which are highlighted below.

Participation in Protected Area Management Planning - The Final Agreement will provide that Ontario will appoint at least one person nominated by the AOO to the Ontario Parks Board of Directors. This representation will ensure that the voice of the AOO is heard, and that lessons and practices learned from years of sound management and living in harmony with the land and resources are shared. Should other boards be established related to Protected Areas in the Settlement Area, the AOO will also have representation.

The Preliminary Draft AIP also proposes that the Final Agreement will set out three levels of Algonquin engagement in Protected Area management planning:

Level 1: The AOO will review and comment on Protected Area Management Plans and Management Statements prepared by Ontario.

Level 2: The AOO, as members on the Protected Area planning teams, will participate in the development and amendment of Management Plans and Management Statements.

Level 3: In Algonquin Provincial Park and 15 other identified provincial parks, the AOO and the Protected Area Manager will work through an Algonquin Planning Committee to jointly develop, amend and examine Management Plans, Management Statements, Secondary Plans, Natural Heritage Education Programs and any other strategic plans for Protected Areas.

Access to Protected Areas - The Final Agreement will also deal with access roads, trails, use of motorized vehicles and other access issues in Protected Areas through Protected Area Management Planning processes that consider the maintenance of ecological integrity as well as the Algonquin interest in access to Protected Areas for harvesting.

The AOO will work with Ontario Parks and the Algonquin Forestry Authority to develop Forest Management Plans that deal with the construction and decommissioning of forestry roads and water crossings in Algonquin Provincial Park.

Cultural Recognition in Protected Areas - Leading up to a Final Agreement, the AOO and Ontario will work together to explore the development of a signature project such as a cultural centre, museum or other tourist destination in Algonquin Provincial Park or in another Protected Area, subject to the appropriate feasibility studies. Such a project will recognize the interrelations of the land and the Algonquin way of life, while celebrating Algonquin culture.

Fundamental to this Chapter of the Preliminary Draft AIP is the continued sharing of long-standing and effective conservation and management practices by the AOO with their partners. The AOO are committed to ensuring the vitality and future prosperity of all provincial parks and conservation reserves within the Settlement Area, for the continued use of the AOO and our neighbours.

This column is the third in a series providing insights into Algonquin history, the foundation for the land claim, elements of the Preliminary Draft AIP and next steps in the journey. The next column will focus on the existing harvest management practices of the Algonquins of Ontario. For more information visit www.tanakiwin.com.

Harvesting And Conservation

by Robert Potts, principal negotiator and senior legal counsel for the Algonquins of Ontario

Since time immemorial, harvesting has been central to the Algonquin way of life. The Algonquin traditional practices of hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering flora for medicinal, food and other purposes, reflect the history of Algonquins as a hunting and gathering society. These practices embody an inherent respect for the environment and a fundamental commitment to the sustainable management of resources which has been passed from generation to generation.

The right of Aboriginal peoples in Canada to engage in traditional activities that are fundamental to their unique histories, cultures and spiritual beliefs is recognized by the Constitution Act, 1982 and upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada. Under this legal framework, the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) currently possess the right to harvest wildlife, fish, migratory birds and plants for domestic purposes 365 days per year. This right is subject only to measures necessary for conservation and public health and safety. As such, a Final Treaty will not create Aboriginal rights for the AOO but rather, it will clearly articulate what these rights are and how they may be exercised.

As stewards of the land and resources within their Traditional Territory, the AOO recognize the fundamental importance of protecting viable populations of flora and fauna for generations to come. Since 1991, the AOO have pioneered ground-breaking harvest management plans for moose in Algonquin Park and Wildlife Management Units surrounding the park. These plans contain clear provisions which set out when and where the harvest by Algonquin harvesters can occur, what the total harvest is to be and who is eligible to participate through a tag system.

Harvest limits for moose and elk are established in cooperation with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), based on data that addresses wildlife conservation and the sustainability of wildlife populations. The AOO is the first Aboriginal group in Canada that has voluntarily enacted these types of harvest management practices.

Over the last decade the AOO, working in partnership with the MNR have become important players in moose aerial inventory surveys in Algonquin Park. This involvement expanded to elk aerial inventories beginning in early 2012. The AOO continue to work with the MNR to develop a coordinated approach to enable the effective participation of the Algonquins in the collection of data relating to fish and other wildlife across the Territory. To date, the data collected for both moose and elk have assisted in the development of the AOO annual harvest management plans.

The AOO recognize that sustainable harvests are fundamental not only to the Algonquin way of life but also to our neighbours living throughout our Traditional Territory. As demonstrated over the past 20 years, the AOO are committed to working together to ensure the protection of viable populations of fish and wildlife for future generations.

This column is the fourth in a series providing insights into Algonquin history, the foundation for the land claim, elements of the Preliminary Draft AIP and next steps in the journey. For more information visit www.tanakiwin.com.

Forestry

by Robert Potts, principal negotiator and senior legal counsel for the Algonquins of Ontario

Forested areas have been integral to the Algonquin way of life since time immemorial. The proposed Forestry Chapter of the Preliminary Draft Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) recognizes the importance of the forest industry in the Algonquin Settlement Area to both the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) and their neighbours.

The cornerstone of this Chapter is the commitment by the AOO and Ontario to work cooperatively to maintain support for the existing forest industry, while increasing Algonquin participation in, and benefits from the forestry sector. This commitment reflects the importance of forestry to the culture, economic stability and prosperity of the AOO.

Through several proposed initiatives and collaborative partnerships, the Preliminary Draft AIP carves out more meaningful participation for the AOO within the forest industry. A number of proposed elements to be reflected in a Final Agreement are highlighted below.

Economic Development and Training Opportunities

Key to the Forestry Chapter is the development of economic opportunities and supporting measures to increase Algonquin employment and participation in the forest industry throughout the Settlement Area, including in Algonquin Park. These initiatives include:

• notifying the AOO of government contracts and job opportunities related to forestry in Algonquin Park

• encouraging potential Algonquin employment, training and contract opportunities with Sustainable Forest License (SFL) holders

• the consideration of the potential for Algonquin benefits as a relevant factor when Ontario is evaluating tender bids or other government contracting procedures

• the provision of training opportunities by Ontario and the Algonquin Forestry Authority for the AOO in the forestry industry in Algonquin Park, including silviculture

Forestry Management and Planning

A Final Agreement will also set out the nature and scope of Algonquin participation in forestry management and planning, including representation on planning teams, both inside and outside of Algonquin Park. In addition, Ontario will appoint at a minimum one person nominated by the AOO to the Board of Directors of the Algonquin Forestry Authority for Algonquin Park.

Ontario continues its commitment to consultation with the AOO on any new forestry policy initiatives within the Settlement Area, including the forestry tenure and pricing review.

Moving Forward

The AOO, Ontario and representatives for SFLs located within the Algonquin Settlement Area have already begun working together to address forestry matters related to the Algonquin treaty negotiations as well as to collaboratively develop economic opportunities to enhance the competitiveness of the region.

As we move forward towards a historic modern-day treaty, the AOO are committed to working in partnership with Ontario and our neighbours to foster a sustainable forestry industry built on a foundation of economic prosperity, conservation and stewardship.

This column is the fifth in a series providing insights into Algonquin history, the foundation for the land claim, elements of the Preliminary Draft AIP and next steps in the journey. The next column will focus on the Heritage and Culture component of the Preliminary Draft AIP. For more information visit www.tanakiwin.com.