Jackson Pind receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Jack Hoggarth has previously received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. He is affiliated with Curve Lake First Nation and Kawartha Nishnawbe First Nation.
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The Williams Treaties (1923), also known as the Williams Treaty (named after Angus S. Williams, the provincial negotiator) pertained to over 20,000 square kilometers of land in exchange for a one-time cash payment of $25 per person.
Oral histories from treaty educator Maurice Switzer, and former Alderville chief and community historian Dave Mowat now consider the Williams Treaties as being among the worst treaties in Canadian history.
A 2018 agreement between the Williams Treaties First Nations and the governments of Ontario and Canada settled litigation about land claims and harvesting rights in the region. But the seven First Nations continue to grapple with the legacy of empty promises and ongoing questions.
Earlier this year, the seven Williams Treaties First Nations again asserted that lands will continue to be protected despite the provincial government’s plan to develop the Greenbelt, which overlaps in the southern parts of the territory.
Chief of Alderville First Nation, Taynar Simpson, explained the cultural importance of these lands, and that development could “damage water systems and wetlands that supply groundwater, reduce flood risks and improve climate resilience.”
A wave of new settlement had already encroached onto Indigenous lands in central Ontario and both the forestry and mining industries had already started operations.
The punishing aspects of the Indian Act, which included the creation of new reserves, and the implementation of residential and Indian Day Schools, had already existed in this region for decades.
These restrictive policies were coupled with a complete reconstruction of Anishinaabek traditional lands and waterways. Through the building of the Trent-Severn waterway, thousands of acres of manoomin (wild rice) were destroyed.
Overharvesting of these regions by settlers resulted in the extirpation of key animals such as salmon and eels, the extinction of the passenger pigeon, and massive declines in wild turkey populations.
Under these pressures, the Anishinaabeg communities continued to practise their ways of life and challenged the treaty continually in court.
By 1994, the Supreme Court in R. v. Howard ruled that a Hiawatha First Nation man could be charged for fishing out of season as his harvesting rights had been “extinguished” in the 1923 treaty.
In 2018, the Williams Treaties First Nations and the governments of Ontario and Canada came to a final agreement, settling litigation about land claims and harvesting rights in the region.
The collective Williams Treaties First Nations approved a proposed $1.1 billion settlement. The settlement amounted to approximately $85 per acre for land surrendered under the Williams Treaties of 1923. The value of the land during the settlement was between $10,000-15,000.
The agreement outlined four key areas: recognition of pre-existing treaty harvesting rights, financial compensation ($666 million from Canada and $444 million from Ontario), the opportunity to acquire additional reserve lands (plus the apology).
Co-author Jackson Pind’s own great aunt, Ruby Marsden Hicks, was 95 years old and the oldest person from Alderville who received the settlement.
She remembers that her father, Moses Muskrat Marsden, was there in November 1923 when the Williams Treaties were signed in Alderville. He had said, “The Indians only wanted to know if they would still have their hunting and fishing rights and when they were told they would, they signed.”
However, the restoration of harvesting rights has caused confusion among members of the Williams Treaties First Nations.
Before the settlement, a status member of the seven Williams Treaties First Nations could hunt and fish on reserve lands or within 50 feet of the “Indian Islands,” established under the islands of the [Trent Treaty of 1856 (Treaty #78)]. For the Anishinaabek who occupied the north shore of Lake Ontario, that included thousands of islands in all the rivers and tributaries that flowed into Lake Ontario.
The settlement’s terms, aimed at protecting fish during spawning season, restrict harvesting in these sanctuaries. These sanctuaries are significant historical gathering spots for ceremonial, practical and political activities.
The agreement doesn’t extend harvesting rights beyond pre-existing treaty areas. First Nations harvesting is limited to areas up to Silent Lake Provincial Park (Treaty 20).
Chippewas of Rama First Nation video, Williams Treaties Settlement Agreement Signing Ceremony, Nov. 17, 2018.
The financial compensation was divided equally among the seven Williams Treaties First Nations, with a portion distributed to members and the rest retained for infrastructure development or land acquisition.
To add new lands, First Nations must navigate the lengthy “Additions to Reserve” (ATR) process, which can take up to 25 years.
The settlement allows for the addition of 11,000 acres to each First Nation’s reserve, but they must first purchase these lands and then undergo a sped-up, five-year ATR process. During this time, the First Nations incur tax expenses on these large land parcels. They indirectly return funds to the governments responsible for treaty malpractice.
These communities continue to call on the provincial government to adequately consult Williams Treaties First Nations when making important decisions on their lands, in the Greenbelt and beyond.
Reflecting on this treaty history, one can imagine that if our great-grandparents truly understood the full implications of their 1923 agreements, they might have chosen to reject the documents that have continually dispossessed their great grandchildren from their ancestral lands.
