‘We didn’t sign that treaty’: in Canada, the Anishinaabe fight for land they never gave up

Canada ’s highest court ruled that the crown had made a “mockery’ of a key 1850 agreement by failing to adequately compensate First Nations for the riches extracted from their ancestral territories.

The community of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg , on the northern shores of Lake Superior , are waging a different battle.

They argue that they retain title over the land and the right to determine how the land should be used.

Biigtigong Nishnaabeg say the crown’s attempt to wrap up the negotiations quickly led to major oversights, not least the fact that they didn’t sign the treaty.

But if they never signed the treaty, they never gave up the rights to the fruits of their lands.

The government, however, insists that they should be considered signatories to the agreement.

Biigtigong Nishnaabeg purchased the demolished town site two years ago .

The move was partly defensive, blocking other prospective owners from developing the land.

But it was also a nod to the grander ambitions of the nation: to gradually reclaim their territory.

“There’s always strings attached,” says Michano .