Federal officials warned Ontario Algonquin leaders not to “usurp” their own organization’s modern treaty talks, amid a political restructuring that has paused the potentially billion-dollar negotiations, a newly released document says.
In a March 8 memo for the minister, Crown-Indigenous Relations officials say “although a key principle of self-government is the right of an Indigenous group to self-determine how to organize itself, this does not include the right to unilaterally disenfranchise individuals or usurp the role of an existing organization that is negotiating a modern treaty.”
That’s a concern some Algonquin members feel is unfounded, contradictory, colonial and contrary to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
“It tells us that they may be willing to abandon their commitment to UNDRIP and respecting self-determination when it suits their interests,” said Veldon Coburn, an associate professor at McGill University in Montreal and a member of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan, roughly 150 kilometres west of Ottawa.
“They still maintain a paternalistic view that we do not know how or cannot competently constitute ourselves, and reconstitute ourselves, as nations.”
The memo is dated about a week after CBC Indigenous reported the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) had removed almost 2,000 people from its 8,500-person electorate, after an investigating tribunal concluded their ancestors weren’t Algonquin.
Formed in 2005 to negotiate what would be Ontario’s first modern treaty, covering 36,000 square kilometres in eastern Ontario, AOO operated under a cloud of controversy in recent years amid questions about many members’ — and some leaders’ — Indigenous identity.
After the cleanup, speculation spread in Algonquin country that AOO may collapse, with a new organization, the Algonquin Treaty Alliance, springing up in its place.
AOO comprises 10 communities, of which only Pikwakanagan is an official Indian Act band. The new alliance would reduce the communities to seven, the Antoine Nation website says, though legitimate members wouldn’t be removed.
There’s no coup. There’s no attempt to usurp the AOO.– Chief Greg Sarazin
The federal memo, obtained by CBC News under access-to-information law, says Canada and Ontario “carefully monitored” these developments and “have concerns regarding the governance structure of the Algonquin Treaty Alliance.”
Pikwakanagan Chief Greg Sarazin dismissed those concerns, saying the restructuring is still being discussed.
“It is accurate to say that the Algonquin side is exploring ways to reorganize our negotiation team, and the purpose behind that is to enhance the prospect of finalizing a treaty successfully,” he said.
“There’s no coup. There’s no attempt to usurp the AOO.”
The AOO is an administrative body that takes direction from its elected negotiators but it “has proven to be dysfunctional over the past number of years and not responsive to Algonquin interests,” he continued.
He called Canada’s statement on political self-determination contradictory, adding no one was unilaterally disenfranchised but removed in a fair, impartial and lawful process.
In one case, about 1,000 of the now-removed members relied on a mysterious letter to prove a root ancestor was Algonquin, a letter that a CBC News investigation reported was likely fake.
That has Coburn asking, “Who usurped who?”
‘Canada should have done its own homework’
Though the underlying issues date back more than 250 years, Pikwakanagan launched the modern land claim in 1983. Talks collapsed in 2001, and Canada and Ontario would only resume negotiations if the Algonquin side returned to the table representing all people, status or non-status, who may be able to exercise Algonquin rights on the territory.
That means the Crown had a hand in AOO’s creation, Coburn said, and the memo says Canada and Ontario remain “confident” AOO’s communities will meet the legal tests for Indigenous rights.
Algonquin communities in Quebec, of which there are nine federally recognized bands, disagree. Many don’t recognize AOO or the provincial boundary that divides Algonquin territory.
Lance Haymond, chief of Kebaowek First Nation, said Canada’s approach is “misguided” and will likely spark a legal challenge.
“Canada should have done its own homework instead of burying its head in the sand” on the question of AOO’s legitimacy, Haymond said.
“They shirked their responsibility because they need the AOO to finalize a land claim. Sorry, at some point somebody’s going to challenge them.”
In 2019, AOO received a revised offer, including a one-time payout of $820 million that had been adjusted for inflation from the third quarter of 2018, to settle the land claim. That could be nearing $1 billion now. AOO would also receive more than 52,000 hectares of land under the new offer.
In exchange the Algonquins would agree to “modify” their ancestral rights and title, giving the Crown highly valued legal and economic certainty over the last tract of unceded land in the province.
For the treaty to succeed it has to be seen as legitimate, without question, Sarazin said.
“We need to get it right,” he said.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree wasn’t made available for an interview. In an emailed statement, departmental spokesperson Randy Legault-Rankin said Canada “takes all aspects of self-determination and negotiations extremely seriously.”
Ontario acknowledged a request for comment but also didn’t provide one by time of publishing.