‘We didn’t sign that treaty’: in Canada, the Anishinaabe fight for land they never gave up

While Indigenous nations fight the crown for compensation owed from an agreement signed in 1850, one nation fights a different battle

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Ideas of land, ownership and rights have been the focus of an intense, multigenerational battle between successive Canadian governments and a collection of Anishinaabe nations that have long called the place home.

Last week, Canada’s highest court weighed in on the issue, ruling that the crown had made a “mockery” of a key 1850 agreement by failing to adequately compensate First Nations for the riches extracted from their ancestral territories.

The court victory could pave the way for billions in compensation and highlighted why Indigenous communities across the country are increasingly revisiting agreements signed by their ancestors, arguing that in some cases, the terms of those agreements have been broken.

The community of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, on the northern shores of Lake Superior, are waging a different battle, however.

The community, also known as the Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation, are considered signatories of the Robinson Superior treaty at the centre of the recent court battle, and as such they would be eligible for an eventual payout. But for decades, the community has been saying their ancestors never signed any agreement with the crown. Instead, they argue that they retain title over the land and the right to determine how the land and resources should be used. If victorious in this claim, the Biigtigong Nishnaabeg community could be entitled to a far greater payout.