Under the Bond Head Treaty of 1836, Manitoulin Island was declared to be a refuge where the native people could live free from the influences of white civilization. The Island became known as "Manitoulin Island Indian Reserve". Over the years, various families settled all over the Island.
Under the MacDougall Treaty of 1862, the government divided the Island up in order to accommodate non-Native settlement. As a result, several different reserves were created. Each Native community with the exception of the population located on the eastern peninsula of Manitoulin signed the treaty.
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Stepping Forward
The Native population on the eastern peninsula retained the name, "Manitoulin Island Indian Reserve" and did not allow the government surveyors to take an inventory of the land. In 1968, the Manitoulin Island Indian Reserve and the Point Grondine and South Bay Bands amalgamated and formed the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, which remains unceded to this day.
On August 7, 1975, the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve formally reasserted their right, power and sovereignty over the Islands off the coast around the east end of Manitoulin Island. Band Council Resolution #1891ates..."Wikwemikong Band has jurisdiction over its reservation lands and surrounding waters".
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