Chippewas of the Thames First Nation () is an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) First Nations band government located west of St. Thomas, in southwest Ontario, Canada. Their land base is the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation 42 reserve, which almost entirely surrounds the separate reserve of Munsee-Delaware 1. As of January 2014, their registered population is 2,738 people with 957 living on reserve.
Territory
According to Chippewas of the Thames consultation protocol called "Wiindmaagewin", its traditional/ancestral lands, "Traditional Anishinaabe territory in southwestern Ontario north of the Thames River includes the 2.78 million acres marked on treaty maps concerning the Longwoods (1822) and Huron (1827) tracts. In addition, south of the Thames River, the traditional territory also includes the lands addressed in the McKee Treaty (1790), the London Township Treaty (1796), and the Sombra Township Treay (1796). Deshkan Ziibiing is a party with other Anishinaabe nations to several of these treaties, but is the sole Anishinaabe party to the Longwoods Treaty.
As recognized in these treaties, the ancestral lands of Deshkan Ziibiing thus include all the lands and waters between Lake Huron to the north and Lake Erie to the south, and stretching eastward from the eastern banks of the St. Clair and Detroit rivers to the Mississaugas of New Credit 1792 Treaty lands, a line running northwards from Point Bruce on the Erie shore, to Point Clark on the Huron shore. In addition, Deshkan Ziibiing territory extended into what are now the American states of Michigan and Ohio. Historically, we [Anishinaabek] managed portions of our territory in common with other Anishinaabe nations, and at times in partnership with the Haudenosaunee. Nevertheless, the lands bordering the northern bank of the Thames River have been solely in the stewardship and possession of Deshkan Ziiibiing since before the treaty era."
Chippewas of the Thames First Nation Treaties, Lands and Environment Department has a Treaty Research Unit responsible for researching Chippewas of the Thames' history. All treaties, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation is signatory to, are pre-Confederation treaties. That is to say they were negotiated and signed before Canada's Confederation in 1867. While Canada's government structure has changed significantly from the early days of British colonialism to the present, a continuous political tradition can be identified. This tradition is commonly represented through the British Monarch and their representatives often referred to as the Crown. Land claims research indicates the Crown representatives did not always properly uphold their treaty obligations. It is therefore the job of researchers to provide the historical information required to take legal action against the Crown.
Chippewa members can train to be Archaeology Field Liaison or Archaeology Monitors. The monitors learn to identify features, remains, types of chert and the tools previously used by ancestors of Chippewas of the Thames people, as well as various methods for testing and excavating archaeology sites. This training is provided by the Ontario Archaeology Society. Archaeology assessments are mandatory for developers, municipalities and other entities wanting to develop
History
In 1763, Chief Seckas of the Thames River brought 170 warriors to the siege of Detroit during Pontiac's uprising. The reserve was established in 1819, as part of a treaty by which the Chippewas of the Thames agreed to share 552,000 acres (2,234 km2) of land with the British for an annuity of £600 and the establishment of two reserves, of which reserve no. 42 is larger. In 1840 the Chippewas reached an agreement with the Munsee-Delaware Nation to allow the Munsee to live on 1 square mile near the Thames river. The Munsee portion of the reserve became part of the new Munsee-Delaware Nation No. 1 reserve in 1967.
Aboriginal Rights, Treaty Rights and Title Rights at Chippewas of the Thames
Assertion Activities
DUTY TO CONSULT AND ACCOMMODATE
Issue: Crown did not consult Chippewas of the Thames First Nation as per its obligations under Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. Instead, the National Energy Board which is a delegated authority acting as a tribunal made a decision that ignored or is contrary to the Crown's constitutional obligations to Aboriginal Peoples to consult and accommodate Aboriginal Peoples. The decision was taken to the Supreme Court of Canada and heard November 30, 2016.