By Zihao Li
Overview
The Algonquin Anishinaabe, who historically and currently live on both sides of the Ottawa river, share a rich history of resistance against settler colonialism starting from the first Algonquin Petition submitted to the Crown in 1772. In 1992, the land negotiations between the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation and the Governments of Canada and Ontario formally commenced.
The Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) are comprised of ten communities which include: Antoine, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, Bennonechere, Greater Golden Lake, Kijicho Manito Madaouskarini (Bancroft), Mattawa/North Bay, Ottawa, Shabot Obaadjiwan (Sharbot Lake), Snimikobi (Ardoch), and Whitney and Area. Anyone who identifies themselves as part of the ten communities mentioned is eligible to participate in the ongoing treaty-making elections. However, based on the 2004 Protocol signed among the Algonquin communities, the sixteen elected representatives work together as a united front.
On October 18, 2016, the AOO and the Governments of Ontario and Canada signed the Agreement-in-Principle (AIP), which was considered by many as a major milestone. The AIP, though not legally binding, set the framework and the minimum standards required for any future negotiations among the Algonquins, Ontario, and Canada with regards to capital transfer, land ownership transfer, Aboriginal land settlement, Aboriginal jurisdiction, etc. The three parties agreed with the transfers of 300-million-dollar indemnities, the ownership of at least 117,500 acres of provincial Crown lands, sovereignty over the natural resources on those lands, and certain jurisdictional rights to exploit or protect those resources, from the Governments of Canada and Ontario to the Algonquins of Ontario.