2017-Oct-18
Vice Media Article
“This Ontario Indigenous Community Has Never Surrendered Its Territory
Wiikwemkoong First Nation has been fighting for its land for 155 years.
Duke Peltier, Ogimaa (chief) of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, says his community is one of the last unceded territories in Ontario. He is one in a long line of ogimaas who have kept it that way.
In 1836, a landmass the size of Prince Edward Island was promised to them. In 1862, that land was taken away by a treaty they never signed. Then, in the 1990s they were forced to go to court to defend their land rights and the fight continues to the present day.
Wiikwemkoong is situated on the eastern peninsula of Manitoulin Island, known as Odawa Mniss to the Anishinaabeg who have lived there since time immemorial. It holds special status as the only Indigenous community in Ontario that has repeatedly refused to sign a treaty. Despite this, it claims much of its territory has been expropriated by the Crown.”
Read the full article – Vice Media Article on Wiiky Lands Claim