Re: Algonquin Land Claim

Catherine Duchene | Sep 03, 2015

For the past 20 years in Ontario, there has been an ongoing land claim with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan and the Algonquins of Ontario. This claim is rather large and takes in the City of Ottawa.

We have seen some of the issues ongoing like the development of the Chaudiere Falls and the Windfarm, yet the land claim is not even settled yet.

Within this land claim, there are many concerns, with the main one being the non-status Algonquins with set up communities of non-status people.

All of the information is here; http://www.tanakiwin.com/

What I don't understand in this is the governments currently do not accept non-status people in the constitution and refuse to identify them as Indians and actually are fighting this in court, yet 80% of the people getting a vote in this current land claim are non-status. I am status, so is my daughter, yet we do not get a vote as we did not know we had to register with the Algonquins of Ontario and the set up office in Pembroke. Not only us, but many of the status people from the reserve don't get a vote because they were not aware they had to register.

If that is not bad enough, these non-status communities are well funded to negotiate this claim as well as conduct elections and call themselves Chiefs and Councillors, yet when they sign any documents for the land claim, they are NOT allowed to sign them as Chief.

When this is all said and done, their root ancestor that qualifies them for this Ontario claim, comes from Quebec where they were part of the Jesuits mission at Oka.

One thing that seems to be happening, is that the beneficiary criteria for this claim has not been established yet, which could mean that they will not be accepted at that time, so are they just being used for a vote?

There is something seriously wrong here. I currently have an open file questioning these matters with the Ontario Ombudsman, time will tell on that one too.

One of the reasons I have been fighting this land claim is that these people who are CLAIMING to be First Nations people, are out there conducting ceremonies, powwows, teachings and even using fake status cards known as community membership cards for point of sale tax free shopping too.

Now, while this letter may seem that I am against non-status people, I am not. UNTIL the time comes when we are separated from the Indian Act and can control our selves via a true self governed body and control our own memberships 100%, this is the way it is. I didn't make the rules for qualifying people as Indians, but I certainly have the right to ask questions.

There are also very HUGE concerns in this claim going unnoticed. Is this or should this be an Algonquin ONLY land claim? when we know of other court cases that have proven beyond any reasonable doubt the Mohawk, Nippissing. Chippawa and others also have evidence proving their connections to these same lands? Then we also know that the Quebec Algonquins are being left out too even though some of their families are involved in the Ontario claim.

Everyday I ask the Creator to guide people to a better position in this claim, but it seems everyone is either afraid to do something about it for fear they will get cut out of the claim or worse. Either way, its a mess, but it also has cost millions of dollars so far, and promises to cost millions more when its settled.

No politician will get involved because they don't want to cause problems or make it look like they are taking sides....I think its mostly because they don't know our First Nations correct history. Time will tell, but what I certainly don't appreciate is the cultural genocide that goes on because of this claim.