The Manitoulin Island Treaty - Great Manitoulin Island
October 1862
Some years after the completion of the Robinson Treaties, the then
Government of the old Province of Canada deemed it desirable to
effect a treaty with the Indians dwelling upon the Great Manitoulin
Island in Lake Huron, as a complement to the former treaties, and
with the object of rendering available for settlement the large
tract of good land upon the Island. The duty was entrusted to the
Honorable William McDougall, then Superintendent-General of Indian
Affairs, who, in the month of October, 1862, proceeded to the Island,
accompanied by the late William Spragge, Esq., Deputy Superintendent
of Indian Affairs, and Mr. F. Assicknack, of the Indian Office,
Toronto, as interpreter. Mr. McDougall encountered considerable
difficulties, but by firmness and decision eventually succeeded
in obtaining a surrender from the Indians of the Island, excluding
however from the surrender that portion of it easterly of Heywood
Island and the Manitoulin Gulf.
The terms of the treaty, which will be found in the Appendix, were
adapted to the peculiar circumstances of the Indians and were well
and wisely framed. The result has been to render available for settlement
a large tract of land on the Island, much of which is now occupied
by a prosperous and thriving population. I conclude this brief notice
of an important treaty by submitting, to the attention of the reader,
the report of the Hon. W. McDougall, to His Excellency the Governor-General
in Council, of the results of his mission.
Don't forget to check out our Pueblo Pottery and Native American Indian Jewelry.
|