Keewatin v. Minister of Natural Resources

Part 5. The Ojibway Perspective - Ojibway History 49[273] Von Gernet conceded in cross-examination on December 7, 2009 that from what wassaid, they would have understood that there would be an area where there would be cultivationand settlement but there would remain plenty of land that would always be available for theirtraditional use.[274] I note that Simpson told the Treaty 1 and 2 Ojibway that he had told the Treaty 3Ojibway their land was "unfit for settlement."1872 Negotiations[275] Euro-Canadian mining activity near the height of land west of Thunder Bay in early 1872caused a confrontation between Chief Blackstone and the miners, providing an additionalimpetus to Treaty 3 negotiations.[276] On June 5, 1872, in a letter (Ex. 4, p. 193) to the Minister of Public Works, obviouslyconcerned about the safety of travellers, Dawson described the Ojibway as "numerous, armedand excitable" and opined that the treaty negotiations were "very important matters, as regardsthe prosecution of the works." Increasing traffic over the Dawson Route and the advent ofsurveying parties for the CPR were further underscoring the importance of getting a treaty done.2011 ONSC 4801 (CanLII)[277] On July 13, 1872, The Globe (Ex. 11, Vol. 5, tab 181) reported that Simpson, Dawsonand Pither had again been appointed to attempt to negotiate a treaty:The Bands which have now to be dealt with are those who live on the waters between Lake Superiorand Lake Winnipeg and as far north as Lake Seul. The Dawson Route, therefore, goes through onepart of the territory that is to be ceded, while the Canadian Pacific surveyors are exploring throughthe other parts. The Bands affected by the Dawson Route have always had more or less inflated ideasof the importance of their property…The Chippeways of Rainy Lake District are unlike the Chippeways of Manitoba and the North Westin that they are cranky, obstinate, and difficult to manage. They have constant communication withtheir Yankee brethren of Red Lake and Vermillion, and the evil communication has corrupted thegood manners for which ... they were once distinguished ... they arrogate to themseves the mostunlimited supremacy of the surrounding rock, wood and water…[278] The negotiations held at Fort Frances starting on July 14, 1872 did not go well. In thewords of Von Gernet, they were "nothing short of a fiasco and nearly collapsed into a brawl."The Ojibway forcefully refused to deal.[279] The Ojibway leadership was deeply divided even about the desirability of entering into atreaty. By the end of the 1872 negotiations, the Commissioners and various contemporaneouscommentators were sceptical that a treaty agreement could be reached in the near future.[280] In their official report dated July 17, 1872 (Ex. 4, pp. 194-195), the Commissionersconceded that the 1872 negotiations went nowhere:We have the honour to inform you that during the past sixteen days we have had repeated interviewswith Saulteux [Salteaux] Indians of this place, and have done everything in our power to negotiate aTreaty with them in conformity with the views of the Government as conveyed to us through yourDepartment, but regret to say that, in this we have not been successful.