Robinson Huron Treaty gathering comes to a close in Sault Ste. Marie

The Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 Gathering came to a close in Sault Ste. Marie Saturday as upward of 1,000 people from across Ontario gathered at GFL Memorial Gardens for a renewal ceremony on the 173rd anniversary of the signing of the document.  

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree and Indigenous Affairs of Ontario Minister Greg Rickford were on hand on behalf of the federal and provincial governments to participate in the ceremony alongside First Nation chiefs and representatives of the litigation team for the Robinson Huron Anishinabek. 

This year’s treaty gathering took place on the heels of a historic $10-billion settlement brought on by the Robinson Huron Treaty annuities claim initially launched in 2012. The settlement is expected to be finalized as early as November, with funds anticipated to flow into First Nations by February or March of next year. 

“I think it’s a significant marker in the development of this case against the Crown to address the annuities issue,” said Duke Peltier, who is a member of the litigation management committee for the Robinson Huron Anishinabek. “We’re here today celebrating and confirming that Sept. 9 is significant in not only the renewal, but the strengthening of the relationship between the Robinson Huron Treaty as well as with the Crown.” 

Anandasangaree said the $10-billion settlement signifies the progress Canada has made on reconciliation and serves as a reminder that more work needs to be done. 

“Today, 173 years later, there is renewal — the injustices of the past are being addressed, and while compensation won’t bring back the loss, it is a very important acknowledgement of the failures, systemic failures, of our governments, our federal as well as the provincial government,” he told reporters following the event. “I think it’s a path forward for us to renew a nation-to-nation relationship and to ensure that future generations are in a much different place than in the past.”

Rickford said the province is focused on levelling the playing field around economic prosperity for all communities within the treaty territory to ensure that “the youth of tomorrow have a fair and equitable chance at the kind of prosperity many of us enjoy in the province of Ontario.”

“I think this settlement respects that,” said Rickford. “It gives us an opportunity to move forward on a clear path together around social health and economic prosperity for everyone.”

Rickford declined to comment when asked by SooToday about Ontario taking its appeal of the annuities court decision to the Supreme Court of Canada later this year after its arguments were dismissed by the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2021.  

“I’m not going to speak to any matters currently before the court, but I can tell you there are some residual matters completely unrelated to today and the Robinson Huron community,” he told reporters. “We’re going to take the time today to celebrate what we’ve accomplished and support the Robinson Huron Treaty and the implementation of this historic settlement.”

Garden River First Nation Chief Andy Rickard said the three-day treaty gathering hosted by his community was significant given that Chief Shingwaukonse of Garden River was one of the signatories to the 1850 treaty and one of the principal negotiators involved.

A number of sacred items that once belonged to the former chief were loaned to the First Nation by the Royal Ontario Museum, including a 200-year-old pipe and a war club. Talks are currently underway to have a dozen of sacred items that once belonged to Shingwaukonse repatriated to Garden River. 

“It was nice for our people, more particularly our band members, to actually get to witness that and see how special this moment was,” Rickard said.

Earlier this week, Garden River leadership issued a public memo to community members speaking out against what it calls an “unequal and unfair” distribution agreement for the $10-billion settlement. 

Rickard told reporters that he had a mandate from council to open up discussions around aspects of the distribution agreement, including allotments of $500 million for lawyers and $1 billion to set up a trust fund for future legal action.

The settlement is expected to be finalized by Canada and Ontario as early as November, with funds potentially following from the trust to First Nations by February or March of next year. 

“We do have some time just to kind of hash out any challenges there, any issues that we might have,” said Rickard. “If we get in the same room, we can probably talk things out in terms of how do we move forward as all 21 communities.” 

Peltier said the distribution agreement for any potential settlement was approved unanimously by chiefs in 2012 in order to set the stage for litigation over the annuities claim.   

“It is a prerogative of the chiefs to have that discussion — and I’m sure if they wish to have it, they’ll provide the answers and the trust will work at it,” he said.

As people mingled and took in a feast to close out the treaty gathering, lead organizer Steven McCoy applauded the efforts of Garden River First Nation, Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin and the Robinson Huron Litigation Fund in making the gathering a reality.    

“That’s the whole reason for this gathering: it’s not just about the treaty, it’s not just about money talks. It’s about gathering, it’s about our people coming together because a long time ago, our people were not allowed to gather,” said McCoy. “There’s many elders in this room that had to go through that, where they weren’t allowed to gather before.”