Ontario Treaties

Question 1

Describe the Upper Canada Treaties.

Answer 1

The Upper Canada Treaties consist of approximately 30-35 agreements covering much of present-day southwestern Ontario, signed between 1781 and 1862.

Question 2

What was the purpose of the Upper Canada Treaties for the Indigenous signatories?

Answer 2

The Indigenous signatories, including Anishinaabe peoples, the Huron-Wyandot, and other First Nations, received cash payments and goods in exchange for surrendering title to the land.

Question 3

Define the Toronto Purchase and its controversy.

Answer 3

The Toronto Purchase, negotiated in 1787, was disputed by the Mississauga who claimed it covered unceded territory, leading to a revised treaty in 1805 that still favored the British.

Question 4

How did the Upper Canada Land Surrenders impact Indigenous peoples?

Answer 4

The land surrenders led to displacement, disputes over land allotments, and claims of unjust takings by descendants of treaty signatories.

Question 5

Describe the Bond Head Treaties.

Answer 5

The Bond Head Treaties, signed in 1836, aimed to move Indigenous peoples to Manitoulin Island and the Saugeen Peninsula to hunt and fish without settler encroachment.

Question 6

What was the shift in Indigenous policy brought about by Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis Bond Head?

Answer 6

Instead of encouraging Indigenous peoples to become Christian farmers, he wanted to relocate them to designated areas for hunting and fishing, reflecting the stereotype of ‘noble savagery’.

Question 7

Describe the Robinson Treaties.

Answer 7

The Robinson Treaties were agreements where the Crown promised Indigenous peoples the right to hunt and fish in the ceded territory as they had traditionally done.

Question 8

What was the significance of the Williams Treaties?

Answer 8

The Williams Treaties were the last historic land cession treaties in Canada, transferring over 20,000 km2 of land in south central Ontario to the Crown.

Question 9

Define the Michipicoten War or Mica Bay Uprising.

Answer 9

It was a relatively minor 1849 confrontation where Indigenous peoples and Métis resisted Canadian mining operations on the Precambrian Shield, leading to treaty negotiations.

Question 10

How did the Williams Treaties impact Indigenous peoples in Ontario?

Answer 10

The treaties led to legal disputes and negotiations over hunting and fishing rights, eventually settled in 2018 after disagreements between the Indigenous signatories and federal and provincial governments.

Question 11

Describe the outcome of the Williams Treaties First Nations’ litigation in 2018.

Answer 11

The Williams Treaties First Nations, along with the Governments of Ontario and Canada, reached a final agreement settling disputes over land surrenders and harvesting rights.

Question 12

What was the purpose of the creation of 24 new reserves in the agreements discussed?

Answer 12

The reserves were to be held by the Crown for the ‘use and benefit’ of the nations whose leaders’ names and marks were on the agreements, along with initial payments and annuities.

Question 13

Describe the Williams Treaties signed in 1923.

Answer 13

The Williams Treaties were agreements signed between the Canadian government and the Chippewa and Mississauga peoples in 1923, exchanging land for one-time payments.

Question 14

What territories were involved in the Williams Treaties?

Answer 14

The treaties involved lands between the Etobicoke and Trent Rivers, Lake Ontario’s northern shore, Lake Simcoe, the Ottawa River, and Lake Huron.

Question 15

How did the Williams Treaties differ from other land cessions in terms of compensation?

Answer 15

Unlike annuity payments in perpetuity, the Chippewa and Mississauga peoples received one-time payments of $25 per band member and lump sum payments.

Question 16

Define the significance of the Williams Treaties surrendering hunting and fishing rights.

Answer 16

The treaties marked a departure from previous agreements by surrendering Indigenous hunting and fishing rights on off-reserve lands.

Question 17

Describe the role of historian Peggy J. Blair in understanding the Williams Treaties.

Answer 17

Historian Peggy J. Blair suggests that the urgency to sign the treaties may have been influenced by potential grievances taken to the League of Nations and British officials by the Indigenous peoples.

Question 18

What motivated the Canadian government to quickly sign the Williams Treaties?

Answer 18

The government’s haste may have been driven by the desire to extinguish Indigenous title to lands already in use by Ontario and the fear of potential grievances taken to international bodies.

Question 19

How did the Williams Treaties impact Indigenous peoples’ rights compared to other treaties?

Answer 19

The treaties provided less favorable terms by offering one-time payments, surrendering hunting and fishing rights, and excluding legal representation for the Indigenous signatories.

Question 20

Describe the land exchanged in the Williams Treaties.

Answer 20

The treaties involved the exchange of approximately 6,475 km2 and 45,584 km2 of land between the Canadian government and the Chippewa and Mississauga peoples.

Question 21

Describe the Howard Case involving George Henry Howard and the Williams Treaties.

Answer 21

In 1985, George Henry Howard was charged with fishing out of season on the Otonabee River, arguing his fishing rights were protected by the Williams Treaties. The Supreme Court of Canada controversially ruled in R. V. Howard in 1994 that the signatories had relinquished their hunting and fishing rights on ceded land.

Question 22

What agreements were made between the Hiawatha First Nation and the Ontario government after the Howard Case?

Answer 22

Agreements included the Community Conservation Harvest Agreement signed in 1995 and the Aboriginal Communal Fishing License, but these were later cancelled by Premier Mike Harris.

Question 23

Define the Alderville Litigation and the 2018 Settlement.

Answer 23

The seven Williams Treaties First Nations filed a lawsuit in 1992 seeking compensation for land surrenders and harvesting rights. In 2018, Canada and Ontario acknowledged limited off-reserve treaty harvesting rights.

Question 24

How did the Alderville Litigation progress through different stages?

Answer 24

The trial involved profile witnesses testifying in stage one, followed by expert testimony in stage two on treaties and Canadian history. Eventually, negotiations outside of court replaced litigation.

Question 25

Describe the outcome of the negotiations between the Ontario government, federal government, and the seven Williams Treaties First Nations.

Answer 25

In March 2017, formal talks began to resolve issues identified in the treaties, acknowledging limited off-reserve treaty harvesting rights in certain regions.

Question 26

What was the role of Premier Mike Harris in the agreements made after the Howard Case?

Answer 26

Premier Mike Harris cancelled the agreements made between the Hiawatha First Nation and the Ontario government, including the Community Conservation Harvest Agreement and the Aboriginal Communal Fishing License.