Walpole Island community’s vote on a $46-million land claim offer has been delayed.
First Peoples Law Report: Chatham Daily News – WALPOLE ISLAND – This First Nation community’s vote on a $46-million land claim offer has been delayed, and two residents say it’s a chance to substantiate that the community may be entitled to a settlement worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The southern Ontario First Nation’s land claim against the federal government for 162 hectares (400 acres) of land in Enniskillen Township dates back nearly 200 years.
A ratification vote on the current land claim offer was set for Saturday, but a Monday notice sent to Walpole Island community members, obtained by The Chatham Daily News, said the vote has been “postponed due to a recent federal government discussion that has impacted the scheduling and preparation of the electoral process.
“These changes . . . have created unforeseen complications that necessitate a delay to ensure all procedures are correctly followed and the vote is conducted fairly,” it added.
Walpole Island First Nation officials could not be reached for comment.
Walpole Island members Lorne Loulas and Rick Ablin, who’ve been studying the land claim for the last year as part of a grassroots traditional research group, say the First Nation could be leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table if they accept the current deal.
They argue Walpole Island is entitled to 50 per cent of the natural resources, particularly oil, extracted from the land for well over a century.
Ablin researched oil records and geology reports and found five wells were drilled into what is called the Enniskillen pool, which was producing 200 to 300 barrels of oil a day for more than 160 years. He added the area is still producing oil.
The pair say a conservative estimate puts Walpole Island’s share of the oil extracted at $280 million.
Going forward, Canada should give the First Nation access to well reports and other data to determine how much oil was extracted from the 162 hectares and its true value, Ablin said.
They also estimate the current value of the lots alone is $268 million.
“Now that we’ve done the research, we understand the true value of the property,” Ablin said.
But “there is no thought of removing people” who are on the Enniskillen land, he added.
There is plenty of historical evidence Walpole Island ancestors were skilled and knowledgeable about accessing and using resources from the land, including copper, oil and maple sap, Loulas said.
Before oil was found on the Enniskillen land, their ancestors were self-sufficient, producing 363,700 litres of maple syrup from a 235-hectare (580-acre) maple bush that was later cut down after the government allowed saw mills to be established.
The 162 hectares in Enniskillen were set aside in 1841-42 for the Chippewas of the St. Clair River and the Chenail Ecarte Tribe, which later became Walpole Island First Nation.
According to a claim timeline, between 1866 and 1918, the Crown sold the reserve land without obtaining a surrender or consent from Walpole Island First Nation. In 1983, the Enniskillen Claim was accepted for negotiation on the basis that Canada had failed to act in the best interest of three First Nations involved when it sold the claimed area without consent.
In 1998, despite a protocol that unanimous consent of all three First Nations was required, Canada settled with the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point and the Chippewas of Sarnia. The settlement was for $2 million for each First Nation and the right for each to acquire 81 hectares (200 acres) of land to be added to their reserves.
Walpole did not ratify Canada’s settlement offer. Negotiations resumed in 2018, with Walpole hiring a land appraiser, economist and legal team to research the best possible settlement, according to the First Nation.
“We’ve always fought for our land, our resources and our sovereignty,” Loulas said.
Ontario First Nations people only ceded land for settlement and farming, he added.
When European settlers encroached later, Indigenous people never relinquished rights under the land surface, “only a three-foot plowed depth.” Loulas said.” Any subsurface rights – oil, gas, gold, silver, copper – . . . we retained.”
According to treaties, resource extraction was to be a 50-50 partnership agreement to share land and resources, “under our sovereignty with newcomers,” he added.
One source cited by Loulas and Amblin is Rhonda Telford’s 1996 thesis, The Sound of the Rustling Gold is Under My Feet Where I Stand, We Have a Rich Country, a History of Aboriginal Mineral Resources in Ontario.
Telford has researched and written land claims since 1985. An abstract of her thesis notes the inherent Aboriginal title to mineral resources, including oil and gas, under the land and land under water in the context of a long and continuous Native knowledge and use of these resources, were never relinquished by Ontario First Nations.
First Nations negotiated strong, open-ended treaties which protected their rights and provided for future economic development and sovereignty, the abstract note.
And because the government unilaterally added and deleted provisions in its printed treaties, the actual treaties First Nations had orally negotiated and agreed to have been obscured, it added.
They also point to Mineral Rights on Indian Reserves in Ontario, a report by Richard H. Bartlett of the University of Saskatchewan, which cites First Nations communities’ concerns over a lack of benefit for mineral extraction from reserve lands from a 1924 agreement between Canada and Ontario.
The current land claim offer could negate Walpole Island’s rights to resources and sovereignty, Loulas fears. “If we vote this away, we’re saying it’s OK to encroach on our lands, steal our resources and take away our sovereignty.”
More time and research is needed to substantiate Walpole Island ancestor’s knowledge and use of natural resources, along with the right to a 50 per cent share of those resources, he added.
Loulas and Ablin say they previously presented this information to band council, but no action was taken.
The Daily News contacted Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to ask if Canada would agree to reopen negotiations for the Enniskillen land claim.
“Resolving historic injustices with First Nations is an important objective for the Government of Canada and for its commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples,” spokesperson Carolane Gratton said by email.
Walpole Island’s chief and council have been involved in negotiating its specific claim with Canada, in accordance with standard practice for negotiating specific claims, she said.
“At this time, it is up to the First Nation members to determine whether they agree with the draft settlement agreement put before them for ratification by chief and council,” Gratton said. “Canada will respect the decision of the community and does not involve itself in internal governance matters with the First Nation.
“Canada looks forward to continuing to work co-operatively with the Walpole Island First Nation to make progress together on this claim and other shared priorities,” she said.
Asked if the government sees any validity in Loulas and Ablin’s claims Gratton said: “Due to the confidential nature of these negotiations – agreed to by all parties – we cannot comment further.”
Canada is looking at this in a fair manner, Loulas agreed.
“That’s what this speaks to,” he said. “There were wrongs done in the past and let’s fix them and let’s move forward and renew a partnership.”
Noting First Nations in Ontario never gave up their land resources based on their sovereignty, he said, “So let’s start proving these things, let’s hold true to these concepts and legal agreements.”
Loulas added, “In the age of reconciliation, that says a lot.”