Keewatin v. Minister of Natural Resources

Part 4. Euro-Canadian History 1758-1871 34So far therefore, as the question of the value of Indian claims depends on the character of the soilbetween the North West Angle of the Lake of the Woods and the Eastern shore of the Shebandowan,I should not consider the fee simple of the entire Country, for agricultural purposes, worth as much as100 acres of the prairie of Red River.[Emphasis added.][196] In the fall of 1870, Dawson had several meetings with the Chiefs and leading men of theOjibway at the Lake of the Woods and Fort Frances. On December 19, 1870, in a letter toLangevin, the Minister of Public Works (Ex. 1, Vol. 4, tab 103), he wrote:As I returned from Red River last fall, I had several meetings with the Chiefs and leading men of thetribe at the Lake of the Woods and Fort Frances. They expressed themselves as being quite open totreat with the Dominion Government for right of way, or the cession of their lands, underconditions to be agreed on. At Fort Frances, the principal chief, who no doubt gave expression to thesentiments of the whole tribe, for the matters of which he spoke had been much discussed amongthem, remarked that the Indians were not averse to entering into negotiations with the DominionGovernment. We want, he said, much that the White man has to give, and the White man on his partwants roads and land, when we meet next summer you must be prepared to tell us where your roadsare to pass, and what lands you require.[Emphasis added.]2011 ONSC 4801 (CanLII)On the assumption "that laws and regulations… in operation in respect to Indians … will bemade applicable in this case and that these Indians will be treated as minors under the care andprotection of the Government," Dawson recommended:1871that certain areas [in the area of the right-of-way] "which they have long occupied which arenecessary to them in carrying on their fishing and gardening such as the Islands in the Lake of theWoods and their clearings at the Rapids on Rainy River …be set aside for their sole and exclusiveuse, with the reservation that such sections as might be required for public works may, at any time, beapportioned by the Government." [Also cited in Chartrand's report, Ex. 60, at p. 178.][197] The winter of 1870-71 was harsh. After Dawson suggested that the Canadian governmentshould provide assistance to the Ojibway, Archibald despatched James McKay (who laterfigured prominently in the 1873 negotiations) to the Treaty 3 area.[198] McKay was a Red River Métis, the son of an Indian or Métis mother and a Euro-Canadian father. By reason of his background and Euro-Canadian education, he was able to actas a cultural intermediary between the Canadians and the Ojibway. At the time of the 1873negotiations, he was a member of the Executive Council of the Legislature of Manitoba and amember of Morris' entourage. (Chartrand, December 15, 2009 at pp. 50-51.)[199] Lovisek's report, Ex. 28, contains the following at p. 51:James McKay was of Cree, Scottish and French-Canadian ancestry who spoke English, French, Cree,Saulteaux and Sioux. He was president of the Manitoba Executive Council from 1871 to 1874, and amember of the Manitoba Legislative Council until the Upper House was abolished in 1876, and wasthe Speaker until 1874. McKay was later the Minister of Agriculture in the provincial government ofRobert Davis from 1874 to 1878, and represented the Lake Manitoba district in the Legislative