Our federal government has control over all reserves that exist today and actively enforce their legal authority. Only registered status First Nation person who is an accepted member of that community can live on reserve. What is a Reserve? Online Store Buy courses and bundles Gain instant access. All Access Bundle! Best Value. The French league was a distance measurement they had learned from French fur traders.
Instead they received a reserve that measured 16 square miles. This type of misunderstanding was a problem with all of the Robinson Treaties. While the treaties included descriptions of reserve lands measured in miles, First Nations assumed the land would be measured in French leagues, the only European unit of measurement known to them.
Since a league was about two and a half times the size of a mile, the reserves were significantly smaller than what First Nations believed they had agreed upon. Problems also arose when surveyors and First Nations had difficultly locating the borders of reserves as they were described in the treaties. In addition, the surveyors, with the assistance of land and mining speculators, made sure reservation borders excluded areas that were already settled or that had valuable mineral resources.
The land claims process has also created entirely new reserves for specific nations. Missanabie Cree First Nation, for example, was promised a reserve in under the terms of Treaty 9. However, the lands promised were never surveyed or set aside for this Cree community. In , Missanabie Cree First Nation filed a land claim asking for the reserve lands entitled to them.
In , years after Treaty 9 was signed and 17 years after the land claim was filed, the Ontario government set aside about 39 km 2 of land northeast of Sault Ste. In the land became a reserve. First Nations throughout Ontario, such as the Six Nations of the Grand River , Fort Severn, Moose Cree, and Walpole Island, continue to negotiate with Canada to settle outstanding claims relating to the loss and return of reserve lands.
Reserves in Ontario, like in other provinces, are governed by chiefs and councils. The size of the government and the length of their time in office differs from First Nation to First Nation. Many are governed according to the Indian Act , which provides one chief as well as one councillor for every members of the First Nation.
The chief and councillors are elected every two years. This means that the First Nation has more choice as to what their leadership selection process looks like. Under custom systems, chiefs and councils are often elected for longer terms. Six Nations of the Grand River , for example, elects a chief and nine councillors every four years. In addition to this system imposed by the Indian Act , Six Nations of the Grand River also continues to employ their traditional Confederacy Council governance system.
The First Nations Elections Act also allows for longer terms. Introduced in , the Act does not replace the Indian Act or custom governance systems. As of , eight Ontario First Nations have adopted this form of governance. In the late s and through the s, the federal government interfered with the internal affairs of First Nations.
For example, they removed chiefs and imposed electoral processes. These efforts caused significant damage to many communities. Recently, the federal government has been more accepting of First Nations forms of governance. In addition, many communities have taken significant steps to renew and restore their traditional systems of government, at the local level as well as at the level of Nation.
People living on reserves in Ontario often face challenges unfamiliar to their non-Indigenous neighbours. These may include lower levels of education, fewer economic opportunities, and inadequate housing. There are further disparities when comparing reserves geographically: reserves in the southern portion of the province tend to be better off than reserves in the north.
While government funding for reserves is the same regardless of location, reserves in the south are closer to large urban centres, providing them with greater employment and educational opportunities. In addition, reserves in the north, in particular air-access-only communities, tend to face housing crises in a way more southerly reserves do not.
On 28 October , for example, Attawapiskat First Nation, located on the eastern shore of James Bay , declared a state of emergency due to a housing crisis. Similarly, long-term boil water advisories tend to affect reserves in Northern Ontario more frequently than they do those in the south.
A boil water advisory signals when water is unsafe to drink or to use for personal hygiene. Environmental pollution has also impacted the health and well-being of communities. For example, the people of Grassy Narrows have seen their Indigenous lifestyle destroyed by mercury contamination of their river system.
Reservation is the term used in the United States. In Canada, reservations can be sought at hotels, airlines, and restaurants. Reserve is the proper legal term. Here's an article on Urban Reserves. If you are interested in learning more terminology such as "reserve" versus "reservation", please download our Indigenous Peoples: A Guide to Terminology.
Topics: Indian Act , First Nations. We have hundreds of articles loaded with tips, suggestions, videos, and free eBooks for you. Happy reading! Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. Readers looking for more detailed information, or who have questions, can sign up for our fee-for-service training. Also, ICT encourages everyone who reads this information to use their best judgment given their own circumstances, vulnerabilities, and needs, and to contact a consulting or legal professional if you have more specific questions.
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