Circles of Time: Aboriginal Land Rights and Resistance in Ontario

The origin of the events during the summer of 1990 in a little-known area of Quebec lies deep within the history of Canada. Resistance to government’s handling of land claims is not new, but the extreme and violent form of the response at Oka heralded a new approach by First Nations to the resolution of Aboriginal land and treaty rights in Canada.

Circles of Time documents the experiences of Aboriginal people, their history and recent negotiations in Ontario, and provides insight into the historiography of the treaty-making process, particularly in the last quarter-century. Controversial decisions such as the Temagami case and Oka are detailed, and McNab, who draws on archival sources that support oral history, provides a new perspective on land claims issues.

Such compelling background information will be invaluable to anyone endeavoring to understand the origin and the current controversies surrounding Aboriginal land and treaty rights, and will clarify the reasons for resistance. Above all, this book will remind us we must never forget that this history belongs to Aboriginal people. Turtle Island is their place, and their oral history can no longer be ignored.

David T. McNab is currently a claims advisor for Nin.Da.Waab.Jig., Walpole Island Heritage Centre, Bkejwanong First Nations, and an Honorary External Associate in the Frost Centre for Canadian Heritage and Development Studies at Trent University.