First Nations take City of Kenora, Government of Canada to court over Anicinabe Park lands

Chief Chris Skead of Wauzhushk Onigum Nation says the 14-acre lands of Anicinabe Park in the city of  Kenora, Ont., have been used by First Nations people for thousands of years, and they want it back under their control. 

Now, more than 60 years after the Government of Canada sold the park to the City of Kenora, three First Nations are banding together to reclaim the space.

Wauzhushk Onigum Nation, Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation, and Washagamis Bay First Nation filed a statement of claim in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice on Tuesday against the Attorney General of Canada and the City of Kenora.

The claim argues that Canada breached its legal, fiduciary and constitutional responsibilities by selling Anicinabe Park to the city in 1959, after setting it aside for the First Nations in 1929.

"We have discussed the return of Anicinabe Park with the City of Kenora for years. They have refused. We are calling on Kenora to do the right thing – to be partners in reconciliation and return Anicinabe Park to our communities," said Chief Lorraine Cobiness of Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation in a statement Tuesday.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Anicinabe Park occupation, when the Ojibway Warrior Society held a six-week demonstration to advocate for better living conditions, education and access to land. Among their demands was returning Anicinabe Park to the surrounding First Nations.

"Filing this claim, it shows that 50 years later, reconciliation has failed," said Skead.

The City of Kenora has filed notice of its intent to defend itself in court. 

"This is a complex legal matter that will be resolved by the court in due course. We have no further comment at this time out of respect for the legal process commenced to resolve the status of the Anicinabe Park," said Heather Pihulak, the city's director of corporate services, in an email to CBC News.

As for the federal government, Eric Head, spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, told CBC News in an email that "the Government of Canada will need to review the statement of claim for this new litigation once it is formally served on Canada."

"In our view, this claim has been a long time coming," said Luke Hildebrand of Headwaters LLP, who is representing the First Nations in the case.

"It's not focused on monetary compensation. It is about returning those lands that should never have been taken away in the first place."

The park was the site of tragedy earlier this year, when a man from Wawakapewin First Nation was shot and killed by an Ontario Provincial Police officer. The incident, which is under investigation by the province's Special Investigations Unit, triggered public outcry about the treatment of First Nations people by police — occurring days after a celebration was held at the park to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Cultural, spiritual connection to the land

Wauzhushk Onigum, Niisaachewan Anishinaabe and Washagamis Bay were once one community, before they separated into distinct First Nations for administrative purposes, Skead explained. The park has always been a central meeting space for the community.

When St. Mary's Indian Residential School operated in Kenora, First Nations families would paddle to the park and wait there to see if they could visit their children. The school was open from 1897 to 1972.

The park was also host to fishing camps, berry picking, rice harvesting and traditional ceremonies, from feasts to funerals, Skead said.

"We have a cultural and spiritual connection to these lands because they are part of who we are. Everything comes from the lands – our clan system, our Anishinaabe names, our way of life, our survival as well."

Members of Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation and Washagamis Bay First Nation issued statements regarding the court case on Tuesday.

Coun. Dolores Sinclair of Washagamis Bay First Nation said as many as 80 people stayed on the land at a time before the park was sold.

"My family remembers the shock and hurt it caused. One day it was a place where we lived, the next, our homes were taken away. The sale of our land was a wrong to our people," added Washagamis Bay's Coun. Brenda Chartrand.

'A chance for reconciliation'

Skead said returning Anicinabe Park "back to the rightful owners" doesn't mean it will be taken out of public use.

He'd like to see a model similar to that of Tunnel Island, a trail system that's co-owned by Wauzhushk Onigum Nation, Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation, Washagamis Bay First Nation and the City of Kenora.

"There's a great example already in regards to sharing — and that was the whole spirit and intent of the treaty relationship as well between the Anishinaabe and the non-Anishinaabe people," he said.

As a Kenora resident, Hildebrand said he'd be proud to see the city work with the First Nations to settle the land dispute in a good way.

"I'd like people to know that Anicinabe Park is a chance for reconciliation. It's a chance to heal a wrong that was done," Hildebrand said.

"I hope that this can be an opportunity for the original peoples and the newcomers to come together and say 'we're going to turn the chapter on what has been a tough, very hard number of years that culminated in this wrongful dispossession of land — and we are going to give it back.'"