Page 60 - Georgina Island

Land Claims
WORDS TO KNOW
unceded land: territory which
has not been formally granted
through the signing of a treaty
but is occupied under an
informal agreement with the
federal government
58 Georgina Island First Nation
ogemawahj_community_book1.indd 58
What is a land claim? A land claim is a claim made by a First
Nations community that the Crown (the federal government)
has not lived up to its promises with respect to a community’s
legal rights to own a parcel of land. Land claims also refer to
settlements that are being negotiated over unceded land.
The issue of who “owns” the land is a sensitive one. According
to our beliefs, no one can own the land. Therefore, we could not
have surrendered something that was not ours to begin with.
However, in modern day circumstances, our people are crowded
onto a small portion of our traditional territory, Georgina Island
First Nation. This does not provide us with the land we need to
become a community that can take care of ourselves.
To grow and prosper as a First Nation, our traditional lands
must be returned to us, or compensation received for them. The
agreements signed by the Crown must be honoured as we have
honoured them on our side.
2019-02-27 10:33 AM