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The gradual occupation of Canada by immigrants, with or without treaties, has continued for almost 400 years and has made the native people a small minority within an industrial nation. In some cases native bands that had concluded treaties have lost control of reserve lands, and in others the reserve lands promised according to treaty were not requested or allocated (see INDIAN RESERVES). Native people, many of whom had been nomadic, often found themselves isolated on reserves with little or no access to wildlife and no money, skill or natural resources to make a living from their reserves. For those Indians, Inuit and Métis who did not sign treaties or take reserve land, the impact of being surrounded or overrun by agriculture, industry, cities and "foreign" institutions has been similar to that on the treaty Indians. They have suffered the shock of great change in virtually every aspect of their lives and in their homelands.

Royal Proclamation, Map

Development of the Claims Process
Although native people have from the beginning struggled to maintain their identity, the "movement" for aboriginal rights and native claims which began for a few bands in the 19th century did not become prominent until the 1960s. Many factors contributed to the expression of native aspirations. Minority rights of all kinds and concern for the environment became worldwide causes. The search for minerals, new sources of oil, gas and hydroelectricity brought the native people of the NORTH into the mainstream of Canadian life. At the same time, although an imposed education system threatened native languages and cultures, it also prepared young native people to enter and challenge the "white man's" political and legal system (see NATIVE PEOPLE, POLITICAL ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVISM).

Canada has been influenced by the treatment of claims and aboriginal rights in other countries. In 1946 the US government created an Indian Claims Commission and in 1971 legislated the Alaska Native Claims Settlement. Australia passed an Aboriginal Land Rights Act in 1976, and in 1980 Denmark granted home rule to Greenland. Proposals to establish a body similar to the US Indian Claims Commission in Canada resulted in the drafting of 2 bills, in 1963 and 1965, which proved unsatisfactory to the Indian people and were never enacted. In 1969 the federal government appointed Lloyd Barber as commissioner of Indian claims to determine and recommend appropriate means of resolving native claims. Early in the 1970s the government set up a system of research funding for native political and cultural associations to enable them to document and organize their land claims.

In 1972 the Indians of Old Crow in the Yukon Territory presented a petition to Parliament concerning oil and gas exploration on their hunting grounds. In the CALDER CASE in 1973 the Supreme Court of Canada split 3 to 3 in recognizing the aboriginal land title of the Nisga'a of British Columbia, and in the same year the Yukon Indian Brotherhood presented a formal claim to the federal government.

In 1973 Justice Morrow of the NWT recognized the aboriginal title of the Dene of the Mackenzie River Valley (see DENE NATION) and in 1973 Justice Malouf of Québec recognized the title of the CREE and Inuit of Québec. These decisions were later appealed and overturned, but they gave important weight to the native cause.

The Process
On 8 August 1973 the federal government, wishing to clear the way for industrial development of the North and to improve the position of native peoples in Canada, announced a new policy for the settlement of native claims. The policy confirmed the responsibility of government to meet its lawful obligations through fulfilment of the terms of the treaties and to negotiate settlements with native groups in those areas of Canada where native rights based on traditional use and occupancy of the land had not been dealt with by treaty or superseded by law. The policy emphasized that the co-operation of provincial and territorial governments would be required.

In order to carry out the new policy, an Office of Native Claims was created in 1974 within the Department of INDIAN AND NORTHERN AFFAIRS CANADA (INAC). Under the leadership of an assistant deputy minister, negotiators, lawyers and researchers dealt with 2 main types of claim: specific and comprehensive. Specific claims are based on problems arising from the administration of Indian treaties, the INDIAN ACT, Indian funds and disposition of Indian land. Although negotiation is the preferred course of action to settle these claims, settlement may also be reached by administrative remedy or court action. Specific claims are usually made by Indian groups living in the provinces, as opposed to the territories, and most settlements consist of compensation and land (sometimes land only). Comprehensive claims are based on the traditional use and occupancy of land by Indians, Métis or Inuit who did not sign treaties and were not displaced from their lands by war or other means. These claims, which are settled by negotiation, involve the 2 territories and the northern parts of some provinces. The areas of land and the numbers of native people involved are usually greater than in the case of specific claims. Settlement of these claims comprises a variety of terms including money, land, forms of local government, rights to wildlife, rights protecting native language and culture and joint management of lands and resources.

The federal government provides funding in the form of contributions to native associations for the research and presentation of their claims. Once claims are submitted, lawyers of the Department of Justice and officials of INAC determine the acceptability of each claim. Upon acceptance, further funding is provided to the associations for research and for negotiation. These loans must be repaid from the proceeds of the eventual settlements.

Evolution of the Process, Conflict and Concord
During more than 2 decades of negotiation of Aboriginal land claims in Canada, the system has responded to national and international changes in communications, economics, value-systems and politics. The implementation of settled claims-agreements has provided a basis for improvement and revision, and a number of confrontations. The most significant of the land-claim confrontations was the Oka, Québec, crisis of summer 1990 when a long-standing dispute over land ownership, tensions within the Mohawk community and ethnic tensions combined in an eruption that included blockades, the shooting death of a provincial police officer, a standoff between Mohawk Warriors and Canadian soldiers, and violence and destruction by civilians on both sides. The affair attracted international attention.

On 31 May 1991 the Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs produced a report on the events, with recommendations that were subsequently incorporated into federal claims policy. The major issues affecting the Mohawks of Kanesatake and Kahnawake, however, are under discussion.

In November 1994, after years of tension, the First Nations of Penticton, Upper and Lower Similkameen, BC, erected a barrier across a road leading to the Apex Ski Resort in order to halt expansion of commercial activity on lands claimed as traditional territory. This action touched off a series of failed negotiations, legal suits and applications for injunction among the First Nations, the provincial government and the resort company. The Supreme Court of BC granted an injunction guaranteeing public access to the resort but the overall issues of access and land-ownership still have yet to be resolved.

During the summer of 1995 a dispute arose between a rancher in the Gustafsen Lake region of BC and a small group of aboriginal people and their sympathizers over the use and occupancy of ranchland for the conduct of the SUN DANCE ceremony. When dissidents threatened to use firearms RCMP were called in by the province. After a standoff of several days, with shots fired by both sides but no casualties, the dissidents surrendered. The First Nations of the area did not recognize or support the protesters and the matter was treated under the provincial Criminal Code.

The Kettle Point and Stony Point CHIPEWYAN of Ontario have for years sought to retrieve lands that were taken for the military base of Camp Ipperwash. In 1995 a demonstration by First Nation members over a gravesite resulted in police action and the shooting death of a demonstrator. On 16 Jan 1996 the Minister of INAC announced the appointment of a federal negotiator, and the intention of the government to settle all issues and make amends for the wrongful taking of the Stony Point lands.

During these years of confrontation Aboriginal people and governments, in commissions, inquiries and meetings, examined all aspects of the situation of aboriginal people in Canada and some agreements were revised or expanded.

In 1980 the federal government appointed the first chief negotiator from outside the public service to assure greater neutrality and access to Ministers. In 1986 the Office of Native Claims was abolished and replaced by several specialized units of the Department - including one to oversee the implementation of agreements. New federal policy papers were published in 1987, 1991 and 1996, and both provincial and territorial governments created their own administrative structures for claims and aboriginal affairs. In 1982 the Canadian Constitution was amended to confirm aboriginal rights, including those identified in claims settlements. Formulas were found to solve the impasse over "extinguishment" of aboriginal rights vis-à-vis the need of government for finality of agreements.

In BC, where comprehensive claims are numerous, a treaty commission process has been developed for the preparation and negotiation of claims. The federal government is acting upon the aboriginal inherent right to self-government (see ABORIGINAL SELF-GOVERNMENT), both within and outside the claims process.

Progress of Comprehensive Claims
Northern Canada Claims The JAMES BAY AND NORTHERN QUÉBEC AGREEMENT of 1975 was negotiated and settled largely in response to the threat of hydroelectrical development. It was signed by the Cree and Inuit after only 2 years of negotiation - far less than any subsequent process. The Naskapis of Northeastern Québec joined the negotiations during the later stages and signed a companion agreement in 1978.

In the Northwest Territories the Inuvialuit of the Mackenzie Delta broke away from their original alliance with other Inuit of the Territory and signed a Final Agreement in 1984. The Inuit of the central and eastern NWT concluded their NUNAVUT Agreement in 1993, and a political accord providing for a new Territory of Nunavut was negotiated concurrently with the land claim. Negotiators for the Dene and Métis of the NWT concluded an agreement in principle but in 1990 a general assembly of Dene and Métis voted not to ratify the agreement. Their alliance divided into 5 groups, each of which has pursued its own settlement with government. In 1992 the Gwich'in of the Upper Mackenzie Delta signed a Final (comprehensive) Agreement, followed in 1994 by the Final Agreement of the Sahtu Dene and Métis of the Great Bear Lake region. The Dogrib people of the Great Slave Lake region are negotiating a settlement that will recognize aspects of Treaty No. 8.

In the Yukon Territory the Council for Yukon Indians representing 10 First Nations ended 20 years of negotiation with an Umbrella Agreement in 1993. Later that year the Vuntut Gwitchin, the Nacho Nyak Dun, the Champagne-and-Aisihik and the Tlingit Tribal Council each concluded Final and Self-Government agreements. Six more Yukon First Nations are negotiating Final and Self-Government agreements.

British Columbia Claims
Negotiations within the BC Treaty Commission Process have resulted in the provincial ratification of the treaty with the Nisga'a Tribal Council in 1999. Upon passage of federal legislation the treaty will be the first BC treaty since 1899. Several other BC aboriginal groups await negotiation of their claims.

Eastern Canada
The claim of the Algonquin of Golden Lake, Ontario, is under negotiation. The Atikamekw and Montagnais of Québec and Labrador, and the Inuit of Québec (Makivak Corporation) are also negotiating claims to the offshore in Québec and Labrador. The Labrador Inuit Association and the Innu Nation of central Labrador and northern Québec have each signed framework agreements to guide impending negotiations with government.

Other Related Claims
The offshore claims of the Cree of Québec to islands and waters in James and Hudson Bay have been accepted by the government and await negotiation; the claim of the Québec Algonquin is under consideration by the government and that of the Algonquin of Golden Lake, Ontario, is under negotiation. Two groups of NWT and Métis are seeking settlement based on aboriginal and treaty rights, rather than via the comprehensive claim process: the Treaty 8 South Slave group are discussing with government a tripartite proposal including treaty rights, social and economic programs and co-existence arrangements with neighbouring jurisdictions; the Deh-Cho group proposes a new Territory with a guaranteed role for Dene in the territorial government and territorial control of lands and resources, with rights under Treaty 11 to be negotiated. A federal negotiator has been appointed to discuss with the Lubicon Lake Cree Band of Alberta their long-standing claim and grievances; a protocol is being drafted.

Progress of Specific Claims
By March 1996, 746 specific claims, including those for treaty entitlement (mostly in the prairie provinces), had been received by government. Of those, 151 had been settled by negotiation, 40 settled by litigation and 95 were being negotiated. Two hundred and eighty-six were under review; files were closed on 98 and 76 were rejected.

Shaping History: The Significance of Land Claim Settlements
The scope, scale and potential of the Canadian settlement of claims is unique in world history, and though the process is far from complete there is a promise of a significant positive effect on Canada and perhaps beyond. Comprehensive and specific claims affect most of Canada, and in the case of comprehensive settlements, the combination of land ownership (including some subsurface), compensation funds, specific rights and programs, provisions for joint administration and self-government make the beneficiaries a potentially potent force in the national economy, society and politics.

Author KEITH CROWE

Suggested Reading
A New Partnership: Canada and Aboriginal Peoples, Report of A.C. Hamilton to Minister of IAND (1995); K.J. Crowe, A History of the Original Peoples of Northern Canada (rev 1993); Letha MacLachlan, "Comprehensive Aboriginal Claims in the NWT," Information North XVIII (1992). Samples of agreements, implementation reports, policies, etc, are available at no postal charge through The Kiosk Information Centre of Indian and Northern Affairs in Ottawa.

Links to Other Sites
The Making of Treaty 8 in Canada's Northwest
This site, which features poignant oral histories and archival material, commemorates the signing of Treaty 8 in the 19th Century and considers the complex issues relating to past, present, and future First Nations treaty negotiations in Canada. From the Virtual Museum of Canada.

Aboriginal Peoples circa 1630, 1740 and 1823
This series of maps show the changing distribution of the Aboriginal population in Canada prior to the creation of Indian Reserves.

Nisga’a Final Agreement
This website provides an outline of the historical background to the Nisga’a Final Agreement, selected Final Agreement provisions, issues of concern arising during the ratification process, the ratification process itself, and judicial proceedings related to the Final Agreement. From the Library of Parliament.

Atikamekw Nation Council
The website for the Atikamekw Nation Council. The Council focuses on health and social services, education, culture, economical development, social security, and technical services sectors. Check out the information about the “six seasons” and Atikamekw legends.

Council of Yukon First Nations
Council of Yukon First Nations offers an overview of the history, culture, and current organization of First Nations populations and communities in the region.