Algonquin bands clash over territory Anishinabeg Nation actions a 'land grab,' say other groups By Mohammed Adam, Ottawa Citizen January 5, 2012 A battle between Quebec Algonquins is brewing after two bands challenged the right of six others to claim 650,000 square kilometres of territory in Ontario and Quebec. Last month, the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council, which represents six of nine Algonquin communities in West Quebec, announced it was preparing to launch a massive claim for land from Northern and Eastern Ontario, across West Quebec to Montreal and Trois-Rivières. Gilbert Whiteduck, chief of the Algonquins of Maniwaki known as the Kitigan Zibi, the spokesman for the group, said the tribal council has prepared a territorial map to be presented to Quebec Premier Jean Charest. But last month, Norman Young, the grand chief of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat, made up of the Algonquins of Timiskaming and Wolf Lake, sent a letter to Whiteduck, denouncing the claim, which he called "unilateral and ill-advised." Young said the territory in question includes land that belongs to the Algonquin of Timiskaming and Wolf Lake, as well as other First Nations. "We found this map worrisome because, based on our research, we have doubts about its accuracy. We also warned about the implications of claiming land which has been used and occupied by our neighbours the Anishinabek, Atikamekw, Cree and Mohawk, without even the pretense [sic] of consulting them," Young wrote in a Dec. 14 letter. "We are very concerned that this map would be developed and considered for public release on behalf of the Algonquin nation without the participation and consent of all of the affected Algonquin communities." Currently, the federal government recognizes 10 Algonquin communities, all but one in Quebec. Several other groups that claim to be Algonquin are not recognized. The only Ontario community, the Pikwakanagan of Golden Lake, are negotiating a land claim covering 36,000 square kilometres, including Ottawa, with federal and provincial governments. Of the nine communities in Quebec, six, including the Kitigan Zibi, the largest of them all, belong to the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation Tribal Council. Of the remaining three, Timiskaming and Wolf Lake belong to a separate tribal council called the Algonquin Nation Secretariat. Barrière Lake, the only one that is not aligned with either group, is battling the federal government over the right to elect its council. Wolf Lake chief Harry St. Denis said the territorial claim of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Tribal Council has no merit, and his community will not tolerate any land grab. "The map that they put out, they are claiming all of our territory and parts of Ojibway, Mohawk and Atikamekw territories. They are claiming land which is not theirs. One community cannot claim all the territory," St. Denis told the Citizen. Aboriginal land claims have long been fraught with problems, not least of which is that the territories often overlap. The Algonquin claim the entire Ottawa River watershed and its tributaries as their ancestral land but part of the problem today is that the land is split between Quebec and Ontario, making for complicated negotiations. As well, St. Denis said, title historically belonged to individual communities - not the nation - and deciding who owns what, and where, is turning out to be very difficult. St. Denis said Wolf Lake and Timiskaming have been researching where their community lands begin and end, and the task is almost done. They plan to make their own submission to federal and provincial governments some time next year. Whiteduck acknowledges that the territory the Kitigan Zibi and five other communities are claiming includes land that belongs to other First Nations, including Wolf Lake and Timiskaming. The Kitigan Zibi are not attempting a land grab, but merely trying to establish that this vast land is aboriginal territory. No First Nation right is being denied, he said. "This in no way should be viewed as diminishing their rights on their family territories. This is an affirmation of our ancestral homelands and not a land claim as defined in the Federal Government's Comprehensive Land Claims Policy," Whiteduck said. "It is my belief as Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Chief that as Nations, we will need to sit down and resolve territorial overlaps as Nations." But St. Denis said Whiteduck can't talk about collaboration when his group is publicly claiming land that belongs to others. "It doesn't add to the prospect of working collaboratively when you have one people making unilateral decisions. You can't just draw a line on a map without some historical record to support it," he said.
