One hundred years ago this November, the governments of Canada and Ontario signed treaties with First Nations of the Chippewa of Lake Simcoe (Beausoleil, Georgina Island and Rama) and the Mississauga of the north shore of Lake Ontario (Alderville, Curve Lake, Hiawatha and Scugog Island).
The Williams Treaties (1923), also known as the Williams Treaty (named after Angus S. Williams, the provincial negotiator) pertained to over 20,000 square kilometers of land in exchange for a one-time cash payment of $25 per person.
Since then, the signatories have shared how they were forced to sign the treaties, without lawyers, during one-day negotiations, and never were told about the loss of hunting and fishing rights.
