Keewatin v. Minister of Natural Resources

Part 5. The Ojibway Perspective - Ojibway History 46Post-Confederation Contact with Euro-Canadians in the Treaty 3 Area[252] The Treaty 3 Ojibway had expressed concerns about the building of the Dawson Routeeven before construction began.[253] From 1868, when the best location for the Route was being determined, to the date of theTreaty, Dawson and numerous other Euro-Canadians had been present in the Treaty 3 area overextended periods. They had built buildings and other infrastructure at various locations along theRoute. They had cut wood and built steamboats to carry travellers over the waterways. They hademployed Ojibway to assist with the construction, to move travellers over the Route by canoe orbarge, and to cut wood to fuel the steamboats after the Route was opened.[254] Lovisek opined that the Ojibway likely viewed the payments they received for thoseactivities as being akin to the tolls they were accustomed to charging. Although they benefitedfrom those payments, they were happy to observe that the travellers were not remaining in theirterritory, but merely passing through it.2011 ONSC 4801 (CanLII)Territorial Concepts[255] Prior to the making of Treaty 3, the Ojibway exclusively controlled their territories. Theymonitored access and charged tolls to any travellers passing through.[256] Lovisek opined and Chartrand agreed that the Ojibway concept of territoriality wasfocused not on a Euro-Canadian concept of land ownership, but on exclusive control of use byoutsiders. They had no concept of selling land. Lovisek said it was natural resources, includinggame animals, fish, wild rice, corn, other crops, etc., that were important to the Ojibway, not landper se.[257] Chartrand agreed the Ojibway did not have a practice of buying and selling lands, eitherat the individual or at the collective level. They did not conceive of territorial rights in the Euro-Canadian sense of owning land and certainly not at the individual level. The Treaty 3 Ojibwayconcept of territoriality was focused on having the ability to control the use of land by outsiders.He gave evidence that the Ojibway did have a strong sense of territorial rights over the landsthey had traditionally occupied and used. They understood they had an ability to exclusivelycontrol the use of their lands and waterways. They drew on the knowledge that they controlled akey transport route between the East and the West to their benefit by controlling access andcharging tolls. (Chartrand, December 15 at pp. 59 and 63.)1871 Treaty Negotiations[258] On April 19, 1871, in a recommendation (Ex. 1, Vol. 5, tab 122, p. 301) to the PrivyCouncil [approved April 25, 1871] Howe wrote that he thought the Ojibway would "be willing tosurrender, for a certain annual payment, their lands to the Crown." The American Indians to thesouth of them had "surrendered their lands to the Government of the United States for an annualpayment… stated …to amount to ten dollars per head for each man, woman and child…" Howeproposed that the Commissioner be "authorized, if need be, to give as much as twelve dollars…