Robinson Huron Treaty settlement finalized

The 21 First Nations named in the Robinson Huron Treaty are finally on the cusp of receiving fair compensation after nearly 150 years of getting shortchanged by government officials.

Leaders representing all of these Indigenous communities met and finalized the parameters of a multi-billion-dollar annuities settlement on Jan. 3.

The final step of this process involved collecting signatures from representatives of the provincial and federal governments, which has now taken place according to a Tuesday update from the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund.

Many of the First Nations governments involved in this case are now in the process of planning engagement sessions that will help determine how to distribute this settlement in each individual community.

A follow-up post on the Litigation Fund’s Facebook page revealed that Thessalon First Nation will be hosting a virtual community engagement event this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.

Garden River First Nation, meanwhile, has posted an online job ad looking for an individual or a firm to fulfill the role of a “Robinson Huron Treaty Coordinator.”

The Robinson Huron Treaty was originally signed in 1850 between the British Crown and 21 First Nations living on or near the shores of Lake Huron.

While the Crown promised to fairly compensate these Indigenous communities for use of their land — which led to the extraction of valuable resources such as nickel, copper, uranium, timber and fish — annuity rates have remained the same since 1875.

This historic disparity was finally brought before the court in major fashion following the formation of the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund in 2010.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ultimately sided with the Litigation Fund’s legal team in 2018, ruling that the Crown had an obligation under the original 1850 treaty to increase annuities as wealth generated from the land increased over time.

After five years of work, all of the parties involved finally reached a proposed settlement this past June, with members of the provincial and federal governments agreeing to pay the 21 First Nations around $10 billion for past losses.

Former Batchewana First Nation chief Dean Sayers was one of the original plaintiffs to file this legal suit and attended the Jan. 3 meeting with his fellow Indigenous leaders to sign the finalized settlement agreement.

Now that government officials have approved the deal, Sayers said he’s proud to be part of a generation that managed to right this wrong after 149 years of injustice.

“I need to honour our elders, our historic leadership and the vision of our ancestors who got us this far,” he told The Sault Star on Wednesday. “So it was pretty cool to be a part of this. I’m really honoured and blessed to play a lead role in this negotiation over the course of the last decade.”

While the $10-billion Robinson Huron Treaty settlement is a done deal, parts of the 2018 Superior Court decision have been appealed by the province, both in the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2021 and now the Supreme Court of Canada.

This past November, legal representatives for the Ontario government argued that increases to the annuity should be at the discretion of the Crown and not the courts.

The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision on this matter sometime later this year, which could dictate how other First Nations annuities negotiations are handled in the future.

In the meantime, funds from the Robinson Huron settlement are set to be distributed sometime this spring, according to Sayers.

Even though this process will feature its fair share of logistical challenges, including the looming specter of fraudsters looking to scam people out of their settlement money, Sayers remains optimistic about the financial and spiritual trajectory of these 21 Ontario First Nations.

“I’m looking forward to seeing people finally feel some reprieve from this really long-standing historic obligation of the Crown,” he said. “And I’m looking forward to what it’s going to look like in the future.”

The 21 communities named in the Robinson Huron Treaty are: Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Aundeck Omni Kaning, Batchewana First Nation, Dokis First Nation, Henvey Inlet First Nation, M’Chigeeg First Nation, Magnetawan First Nation, Mississauga First Nation, Nipissing First Nation, Garden River First Nation, Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, Serpent River First Nation, Shawanaga First Nation, Sheguiandah First Nation, Sheshegwaning First Nation, Thessalon First Nation, Wahnapitae First Nation, Wasauking First Nation, Whitefish River First Nation, Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory and Zhiibaahaasing First Nation.

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Kyle Darbyson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Sault Star