Treaty 9


Treaty No. 9 is a numbered treaty first signed in 1905–1906 between Anishinaabe and Omushkegowuk Cree communities and the Canadian Crown, which includes both the government of Canada and the government of the province of Ontario. It is commonly known as the "James Bay Treaty," since the eastern edge of the treaty territory is the shore of James Bay in Northern Ontario.
By the early 1900s, both federal and provincial governments were interested in taking control of lands around the Hudson and James Bay watersheds in northern Ontario, traditionally home to Cree, Oji-Cree, and Ojibwe peoples.
After nearly a year of delay from Ontario, in May 1905, both governments began negotiating the terms of the treaty's written document. Although ratification of the treaty required the agreement of Indigenous peoples living in the territory, none of the Omushkegowuk and the Anishinaabe communities expected to sign were involved in creating the terms of the written document, nor were the terms permitted to change during the treaty expedition.
One First Nations community in the bordering Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec is included in this treaty. Further adhesions involving Ojibwe and Swampy Cree communities were signed in 1929 and 1937.

Timeline

  • 29 June 1905: Duncan C. Scott and Samuel Stewart are appointed as treaty commissioners by the Government of Canada. Daniel G. MacMartin is appointed as commissioner by the province of Ontario. They would jointly conduct signing ceremonies with First Nations communities on a set route through the proposed treaty territory.
  • 3 July 1905: Agreement between province of Ontario and the federal Canadian government in support of Treaty 9.
  • 12 July 1905: Osnaburgh signing
  • 19 July 1905: Fort Hope signing
  • 25 July 1905: Marten Falls signing
  • 3 August 1905: Fort Albany signing
  • 9 August 1905: Moose Factory signing
  • 21 August 1905: New Post signing
  • 7 June 1906: Abitibi signing
  • 20 June 1906: Matachewan signing
  • 7 July 1906: Mattagami signing
  • 16 July 1906: Flying Post signing
  • 19 July 1906: Fort Hope signing
  • 25 July 1906: Brunswick House signing
  • 9 August 1906: Long Lake signing
  • 5 July 1929: Big Trout Lake signing
  • 18 July 1930: Windigo River signing
  • 25 July 1930: Fort Severn signing
  • 28 July 1930: Winisk signing
  • 1995: Diaries kept by Daniel G. MacMartin, treaty commissioner for the Government of Ontario when the agreement was signed in 1905, are discovered as mislabelled by researchers at Queen's University Archives.

    List of the ''Treaty 9'' First Nations

;Osnaburgh signing
;First Fort Hope signing
;Marten Falls signing
;Fort Albany signing
;Moose Factory signing
;New Post signing
;Abitibi signing
;Matachewan signing
;Mattagami signing
;Flying Post signing
;Second Fort Hope signing
;New Brunswick House signing
;Long Lake signing
;Big Trout Lake signing
;Windigo River signing
;Fort Severn signing
Winisk signing
;Later Adhesions
The personal diaries of Daniel G. MacMartin, treaty commissioner for the Government of Ontario, written more than 100 years ago but rediscovered by historians at Queen's University Archives, supported oral histories passed down by Indigenous Elders that the agreements spoken by commissioners at the treaty signings did not reflect the written document. The unearthing of this additional primary source evidence triggered a legal challenge for mining access on First Nations land. MacMartin's diary suggested "First Nation leaders may have been misled by government negotiators as they were signing Treaty No. 9, says Murray Klippenstein, legal representative for Mushkegowuk Council."

Documentary film

The James Bay Treaty is the subject of a 2014 documentary film by Alanis Obomsawin, entitled ''Trick or Treaty?''