| This dissertation analyzes 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, which were never relinquished by First Nations in Ontario. Some individual Natives shared their mineral knowledge with the newcomers entering their lands. NonAboriginal mining activities eventually led to disputes between First Nations and the outsiders who, in many cases, attempted to remove minerals without Aboriginal consent and without paying compensation.;Under these circumstances, First Nations vigorously petitioned and visited the colonial and settler governments for redress and the negotiation of Treaties, which the governments were reluctant to make. Government inaction prompted numerous Chiefs, First Nation citizens and their allies into disrupting, blocking or otherwise stopping nonNative mining operations in the province thus, precipitating the Treaties which they had demanded. This was the context in which the largest Treaties in Ontario were concluded. First Nations negotiated strong, open-ended Treaties which protected their rights and provided for future economic development and sovereignty. But, because the government unilaterally added and deleted provisions in its printed Treaties, the actual Treaties which First Nations had orally negotiated and agreed to have been obscured.;This appears to have been deliberate because the settler government and its successors wanted control of and beneficial interest in the same resources which Native Peoples had retained as the base of their economy: minerals, timber, game, fish, water etc. Following the Confederation of Canada in 1867, Ontario fought to gain control of this largesse. Federal/provincial disputes over ownership and monetary interest in minerals led to numerous court battles, legislation and agreements which upheld the provincial position at the expense of First Nations and Canada.;This study demonstrates that First Nations have an inherent Title to minerals, that they have never yielded this and that this Title continues to this day. First Nations have acted consistently to protect and develop these resources which are a part of their birthright. The colonial government and its successors, including Ontario, have behaved inconsistently both admitting and denying Aboriginal ownership and beneficial interest in minerals. These governments have consistently failed to respect Treaty promises. Canada, in particular, has badly mismanaged mineral development on Reserves in Ontario. |
