Description
Fractured Homeland: Federal Recognition and Algonquin Identity in Ontario by Mi'kmaw professor Bonita Lawrence documents the Algonquins’ twenty-year struggle for identity and nationhood despite the imposition of a provincial boundary that divided them across two provinces, and the Indian Act, which denied federal recognition to two-thirds of Algonquins. Drawing on interviews with Algonquins across the Ottawa River watershed, Lawrence voices the concerns of federally unrecognized Algonquins in Ontario, whose ancestors survived land theft and the denial of their rights as Algonquins, and whose family histories are reflected in the land. The land claim not only forced many of these people to struggle with questions of identity, it also heightened divisions as those who launched the claim failed to develop a more inclusive vision of Algonquinness. This ground-breaking exploration of how a comprehensive claims process can fracture the search for nationhood among First Nations also reveals how federally unrecognized Algonquin managed to hold onto a distinct sense of identity, despite centuries of disruption by settlers and the state. The volume is organized according to the river system watersheds that encompass Algonquin traditional territory. Communities discussed include: Ardoch Algonquin First Nation; Pikwakanagan (formerly known as Golden Lake); Sharbot Lake; and Mattawa. This volume is an important account of the Algonquin Nation and their contemporary struggle for recognition and land rights.