Ardoch Algonquin First Nation

Press Release

July 4, 2006

Ardoch Algonquin First Nation Cultural Centre Development

On July 6th, 2006 the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFNA) began the initial stages of building an Algonquin Cultural Centre on traditional Algonquin land near Ardoch, Ontario. Men and women from this small historic Algonquin community began clearing land and preparing the site for construction. The Ardoch Community has been raising money for this project for over five years.

A month ago, Ardoch Algonquin First Nation representatives met with the Township of North Frontenac to advise them of the project. Band Council members and Township Council agreed the project would be beneficial to both native and non-native residents of the area. Both parties understood that the new construction would be on Algonquin land and the jurisdiction of building permits and regulation would rest with the First Nation. The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation Band Council confirmed that construction and site preparation would meet or exceed the provisions of the Municipal Building Code and Official Plan. Municipal and Band Council members met on the proposed site several weeks ago to confirm the location and agreed to be mutually supportive in this endeavour.

On June 27th representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) met with Band Council members on the proposed site. The MNR requested that the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation apply for permission to construct the Algonquin Cultural Centre on Crown Land. Band Council members explained that the land for the proposed building was Algonquin Land, protected for them by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and reaffirmed in the Constitution Act of Canada 1982. Band Council members suggested that if Ontario or Canada had a “bill of sale” or a treaty that conveyed the land to the Crown then they would follow the suggested requirements. Band Council members reminded the MNR

Chief Randy Cota asked the MNR representatives directly to give him assurance that the Province would not act violently against the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation when they began the land clearing operation. The MNR representatives refused to say whether the Province would order action against the Band once they began site preparation.

The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation is an Anishnàbè community with a membership of just over 700. The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation receives no support from Canada and is not controlled by the Indian Act. Algonquin communities have not signed treaties and therefore retain all of their Aboriginal rights and title. The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation is not a participant in the Algonquins of Golden Lake Land Claim and dismisses it as corrupt and ill conceived.

Twenty-five years ago the small Algonquin Community at Ardoch was the scene of one of the most dramatic struggles for Aboriginal rights in Canada. In August and September of 1981 the people of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation and their allies from Alderville, Tyendenaga, Curve Lake and Hiawatha fought a 27-day standoff against Ontario to protect their jurisdiction and responsibility for the manomin (wild rice), which grows in the Mississippi River near Ardoch. The wild rice at Ardoch has been shared for over a hundred and thirty years with pickers from Alderville and Curve Lake. It is the manomin that was preserved from Rice Lake when the construction of the Trent Canal destroyed its habitat there. In 1982, Alan Pope the Minister of Natural Resources at the time, admitted that there was an unsettled question of Aboriginal jurisdiction and that Ontario had no right to impose its authority over the manomin. No subsequent Provincial government has threatened to lay claim to the rice.