Canada Court Rejects Indians’ Bid for Land
The Supreme Court of Canada dealt a blow to aboriginal land claims Thursday by dismissing an Indian bid for control of a large area of northern Ontario province rich in timber and minerals.
The five judges unanimously upheld lower-court rulings stating that the government extinguished native rights to an area nearly as large as Connecticut through an 1850 treaty that the natives say they never signed.
The court ruled that even if the Teme-Augama Anishnabai native band did not sign the treaty, it gave up its rights by accepting annual federal payments and a reservation.
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