Algonquins of Ontario
Land Claim Negotiations
The Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation Chief and Council have been negotiating with the federal and Ontario government to secure a land claim agreement. The land claim agreement aims to include a just recognition of Algonquin rights and title, land natural resources, self-government, compensation and other matters.
The Algonquins of Ontario have Aboriginal rights and title to lands and resources within the Ottawa River and Mattawa River watersheds in Ontario—rights and title which have never been surrendered. The Algonquin nation has owned, used and occupied the Algonquin Territory long before the first European contact with archeological evidence showing Algonquins occupying the Ottawa valley for at least the last 10,000 years. That occupation—historically recognized by the Crown—gives rise both in common law and Algonquin law to ownership in the form of Aboriginal title, as well as particular Aboriginal rights. It also gives human rights by international law.