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Tony Wawatie, a community spokesperson from the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake, spoke about their fight for their self-determination, culture and existence this is intrinsically tied to their connection to their land on Oct. 30, 2010. This presentation was a part of Indigenous Sovereignty Symposium - Indigenous Sovereignty Week initiated by Defenders of the Lands.
The Algonquins of Barriere Lake (ABL) have lived on their traditional territory for thousands of years, teachings, knowledge and respect are passed down from generation to generation. The Barriere Lake community is among the few Indigenous communities across Turtle Island who still speak their own language, maintain their custom and carry out their traditional way of life. The traditional territory of Mitchikanibikok Inik (ABL) is located north of Ottawa in north-western Quebec. In 1991, Barriere Lake signed a sustainable resource co-management agreement over 10.000 sq km of their land with Quebec and Canada after years of resistance to protect the wild life from over exploitation and the forest from clear-cutting. This Trilateral agreement asserts Barriere Lake's sovereignty, Aboriginal Title to their land and uphold their commitment to co-exist with the English and French documented in the Three-figure Wampum belt dated back to around 1760. However, to this date, neither Canada nor Quebec has honoured the agreement. The struggle to defend Barriere Lake's sovereignty continues - The latest attempt of the Canadian government is to forcibly assimilate Barriere Lake's customary governance system using an archaic and rarely invoked piece of Indian Act legislation -- Section 74.
