Treaty annuities need to reflect current realities

Once the treaties were signed and our people placed on reserves, time stood still.

The implementation and even the recognition of the treaties was ignored. In the numbered treaties that stretch across the Prairies and contain a land mass greater than western Europe, we were promised health care, education, social programs, economic development and an annual annuity of $5 per person.

Education rights became boarding schools; health was epidemics of smallpox and other diseases; social assistance became starvation and famine, and the $5 annuity remained $5 for 150 years.

Prior to the numbered treaties, there were other treaties that secured lands and resources in other parts of the country. The Robinson Huron Treaties contained the land mass on the north shore of Lake Superior and Lake Huron all the way to the Quebec border.

Two treaties were signed in 1850 with 14 First Nations securing a large and very rich land mass. Settlement and mining development had already begun and the colonial government was eager to secure that land. This has been the history of Canada. Whenever the land was needed, treaties and land claims were settled; otherwise, we were ignored.

In any event, the individual annuity of $2 was promised and later increased to $4 per person. The promise was that as the resources were developed, the annuity would be increased accordingly.

The annuity was never increased, in spite of the fact that northern Ontario became a treasure trove of natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable. The land acquired by the Robinson Huron Treaties contains the mines at Sudbury, Kirkland Lake, and others as well as numerous pulp, paper and lumber mills. Each year the Ontario mining industry generates more than $10 billion in revenue.

Over the years, billions have been taken from the treaty territory, and still the Anishinaabe people line up each year and collect their annual payment of two toonies.

The First Nations have since taken their case to court and this week final arguments were heard. The provincial government maintained that the Ontario budget was fully committed, and it couldn’t afford to pay for treaty benefits. That’s like telling your landlord that you can’t afford to pay your rent because your income is committed to other stuff.

The court case began with hearings in Thunder Bay last September and has dragged on until now. It may be several months until a judgment is handed down.

The First Nations have stated that they want to work out a settlement that is fair to both parties, but the provincial government has not taken it seriously and maintains that nothing is owed.

Meanwhile, this spring treaty parties in Saskatchewan from the colonial office have gone around making treaty payments of $5 each.

This amount has never been adjusted for inflation; nor has any recognition been given to the rich land and natural resources that were gained through treaty with the First Nations and the Crown. At one time, $5 was a considerable sum that would provide flour, beans and other foods that would assist a family throughout the winter months.

The process of collecting treaty money has remained unchanged for more than a century. The people line up at a table where the Indian agent and his clerks go through the treaty pay lists and determine how much each individual or family is owed. The Indian agent then counts off the amount from a pile of $5 bills. The band councillors receive $10 and the chief $20. The Indian agent hands the money over to a member of the RCMP, who is dressed in red serge to stress the importance of the occasion. The RCMP officer shakes hands with the recipients and hands them their treaty payments.

It is an archaic process. There are no computers or modern conveniences; it’s the same way my grandfather and his father before him received their treaty money.

That’s what makes it so special. It’s a longtime custom that cements our relationship with the Crown, our past and the future.

But the treaties are living documents that have evolved over the years. Education now means post-secondary academic and trades training, health means modern medicine, medicare and non-insured services, and so on. That $5 is an important symbol, but it too must be updated to reflect current reality.