Treaty 9 Explained

Treaty 9
Long Name:The James Bay Treaty (Treaty No. 9)
Date Signed:12 July 1905 – 28 July 1930
Parties:
Language:English

Treaty No. 9 (also known as The James Bay Treaty) is a numbered treaty first signed in 1905–1906 between Anishinaabe (Algonquin and Ojibwe) and Omushkegowuk Cree communities and the Canadian Crown, which includes both the government of Canada and the government of the province of Ontario. It is commonly known as the "James Bay Treaty," since the eastern edge of the treaty territory is the shore of James Bay in Northern Ontario.

By the early 1900s, both federal and provincial governments were interested in taking control of lands around the Hudson and James Bay watersheds in northern Ontario, traditionally home to Cree, Oji-Cree, and Ojibwe peoples.

After nearly a year of delay from Ontario,[1] in May 1905 both governments began negotiating the terms of the treaty's written document. Although ratification of the treaty required the agreement of Indigenous peoples living in the territory, none of the Omushkegowuk and the Anishinaabe communities expected to sign were involved in creating the terms of the written document, nor were the terms permitted to change during the treaty expedition.[2]

One First Nations community in the bordering Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec is included in this treaty. Further adhesions involving Ojibwe and Swampy Cree communities were signed in 1929 and 1937.

Timeline

List of the Treaty 9 First Nations

Osnaburgh signing
First Fort Hope signing
Marten Falls signing
Fort Albany signing
Moose Factory signing
New Post signing
Abitibi signing
Matachewan signing
Mattagami signing
Flying Post signing
Second Fort Hope signing
New Brunswick House signing
Long Lake signing
Big Trout Lake signing
Windigo River signing
Fort Severn signing

Winisk signing

Later Adhesions

Treaty 9 challenge

The personal diaries of Daniel G. MacMartin, treaty commissioner for the Government of Ontario, written more than 100 years ago but rediscovered by historians at Queen's University Archives, supported oral histories passed down by Indigenous Elders that the agreements spoken by commissioners at the treaty signings did not reflect the written document.[3] The unearthing of this additional primary source evidence triggered a legal challenge for mining access on First Nations land. MacMartin's diary suggested "First Nation leaders may have been misled by government negotiators as they were signing Treaty No. 9, says Murray Klippenstein, legal representative for Mushkegowuk Council."[4]

Documentary film

The James Bay Treaty is the subject of a 2014 documentary film by Alanis Obomsawin, entitled Trick or Treaty?[5] [6]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Morrison . James . Treaty Research Report - Treaty No. 9 (1905–1906) . Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada . 8 January 2009 . Government of Canada . 4 May 2020.
  2. Morrison . James . Treaty Research Report - Treaty No. 9 (1905-1906) . Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada . 8 January 2009 . Government of Canada . 4 May 2020.
  3. Web site: The MacMartin Diaries - Queen's Connection to Treaty 9 - Treaty Recognition Week 2018: Treaty 9 - Research Guides at Queen's University . 2024-06-16.
  4. News: Treaty challenge. The Sudbury Star. Ron Grech, The Daily Press. Sudbury, Ontario and Timmins, Ontario. 7 January 2011.
  5. News: Ravindran . Manori . 10 September 2014 . TIFF '14: Revisiting history with "Trick or Treaty?" . 17 September 2014 . Reelscreen . Brunico Communications.
  6. News: Ahearn . Victoria . 3 September 2014 . First Nations doc maker Alanis Obomsawin mourns loss of Trick or Treaty? star . 17 September 2014 . . CBC News.