Treaty 9 To many First Nations treaties are sacred. They represent a covenant between people and the Creator that the land is to be shared between all things that have a spirit. Humans were not owners of the land but elements of the land with no greater rights than any other entity. To First Nations, Treaty 9 was an agreement to share the benefits of living well on the land and the responsibility of keeping the land. In fact, First Nations considered themselves and all interacting entities the Land. Treaty 9 was signed by the First Nations in the territory, the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario in 1906, with an adhesion in 1929. The formal document that was signed was created by the governments before the treaty commissioners embarked on their journey of treaty negotiations. The Treaty says: “the said Indians do hereby cede, release, surrender and yield up to the Government of the Dominion of Canada, for His Majesty the King and His successors forever, all their rights, titles and privileges whatsoever, to the lands...”. And also included: that Indians “shall have the right to pursue their usual vocations of hunting, trapping and fishing throughout the tract surrendered... subject to such regulations as may from time to time be made by the Government of the country...”.

Important considerations about the treaty signing must be addressed:• Treaty 9 came at a time when “... the native people were poor ... and because they were

poor they did not have any power or a strong voice over anything” Elder Alex Barkman, Sachigo Lake on Treaty 9 (as quoted in Frogg & Beck, 2005).

• How does one cede land that one does not own, but is part of? Surrendering rights and privileges, if those rights and privileges where considered to be gifts from the Creator would also yield the responsibility to keeping the land and being part of the land. Essentially First Nations would be giving up who they are and their existence in the territory.

• Hunting, fishing and trapping (and include gathering, an unrecognized activity in the treaty document) were not only a means to provide for basic human utility such as food, medicine, clothing and housing, but more importantly, they were the means for development of the body, mind, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of the individual and community. These vocations were, and still are, the foundational activities of lifelong learning required to survive as part of the Land. Disruption of these vocations by imposing limits on, or limited access to, resources would severely affect their natural cultural growth, adaptive capacity, their capabilities to live the life they value, and their ability to fulfill their responsibilities to the Creator of land stewardship.

Differing interpretations of the Treaty intent has proved to be problematic for amenable development strategies. Most First Nations in Treaty 9 are caught in a trap of poverty, struggle and oppression. The legacy of historical policies in the territory persist today and has not instilled confidence that the newest interest in mineral extraction will be of benefit to, or recognize the needs of the local communities. A greater understanding of the First Nations’ worldview and interpretation of the Treaty and history can help build a respectful relationship between developers and local communities. Strong functional relationships between diverse groups can enhance the ability to look at the physical and social environmental challenges through many lenses. Balancing power and building trust gives us more tools to use in facing these challenges.

The Ends and Means of Development When politicians and government ministries talk of development in a territory most people envision economic development. That is the planning and building of infrastructure and businesses to bring economic benefit (jobs and growth) to people under their jurisdiction. The growing economy is commonly used as an indicator of well-being with the assumption that as money is made through resource extraction and it is distributed to people in the jurisdiction through the creation and exchange of services stimulated by the new development. These newly acquired riches can then be circulated through the communities through purchases and provision of services that provide a good life. The circulation of money in exchange for something of value is the lifeblood of the economy. The more money, the healthier we are. However, such a narrow, short-term vision of value is troubling. As our push for economic growth had over-taken our mindset of development we have seen degradation of the quality of our natural and social environments. We now recognise the value of ecosystem services and have seen negative social effects of development on resource rich areas (resource curse and the staples trap as examples). Community well-being in the North has become dependent on industry well-being (often a single industry). When industry are “ill” the communities find themselves with little secondary sources of revenue and a lock-up, or degraded resource-base which limits the opportunities for a continued lively economy. The territory under Treaty 9 is being considered with great interest for new economic development. With resources valued over 100 billion dollars and a long-term prospect of continued activities there are as many visions of the future for northern communities as there are opportunities. Everything from prosperity, knowledge centres and a new metropolis to continued dystopia have been suggested. The fruition of these visions is largely dependent on the approaches taken in development. The means of development is about tapping the value of the land for its material, cognitive, emotional and spiritual values and applying those values to and ends that creates a good life for people. But there are rules set through our ethical responsibilities that are often defined by our worldview and these rules impose limitations on the means of development. When more than one group of people with different worldviews are involved in development, conflicts on the ultimate ends of development are inevitable. The group who can assert their power most effectively defines the ends of development. Trust is created when those actors affected by development are satisfied that the ends of development are achieved and fitting with their values and ethics. Those who live in poverty or are oppressed from living a life they value will struggle to maintain trusted relationships. Power is weighed and trust is assessed on a foundation of actions of actors asserting rights and engaging in ethical conduct. Math and science make good workers, but history makes good citizens. There are no doubts that natural science and engineering challenges are considerable for any natural resource extraction activity in the Treaty 9 territories. These challenges will require knowledge and technical innovations to mitigate physical environmental challenges and to create new products that add value to our natural resources. However, many more challenging issues face the social environment and the solution to the challenges lay within a deep awareness of the diversity of views and knowledge found with the local people. Much of this awareness can come from understanding the historical interactions between people involved in living with the land. Understanding history and the development of a cultural worldview in relation to the land is the beginning of building trust and balancing power that will help define a true means of, and ends to, development.

Understanding the Ends of Development before the Means:Consideration of the Capability Approach to Development in Treaty 9 Territory

Dan Duckert PhD. CandidateFaculty of Natural Resources Management

Lakehead University

PO

WE

R

ACTIONS

TR

US

T Means of Development

Who does what: how and why

Ends of Development

Principles

Recognizing Actors:

Defining Worldviews, Assets, Capabilities and

Diversity

Ethics:Defining Code of

Practice and Conduct

WhoWhat

How

WhyFree enterprise and

capitalism

Indian Act 1876Beaver Boss 1946 F&G ActSec. 35 Constitution 1982

Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs 2007

Treaty 9 Interpretations1906 - present

Natural Resources

Development

Methodology

Principles:Expansion, Growth and

Jobs

Actor Recognition:

Defining Worldview, Diversity, Assets, and

Capabilities

Ethics:Code of Practice and

Conduct

Far North ActMining Act

Land Use Planning

Economic Wellbeing

TrustIntent

Neo-colonialism

PowerIntent

PO

WE

R

TR

US

T

Collective Capabilities

Constitutional Principles:

Justice and Rights:

Diversity of Values and Knowledge

Freedom and Opportunities

Increases Freedom

Increases Functioning

AGENCY

EthicsRecognition

CommunityAdaptability

ResilienceWellbeing

Functional Relationships

Functional Relationships

Balancing Power and Building Trust

The Ends And Means Of Human DevelopmentWhat if:• The ends of development was not about growth and economic gain but was rooted

in the principles of the Canadian Constitution of justice, rights and freedom?• We embraced the concept that human’s were just mere parts of the whole global

system and not controllers of it?• We accepted the responsibility of a) ensuring functional natural ecosystems and b)

understanding the diversity of social system knowledge through cultural awareness• We, upon creating a development plan, asked “what are the opportunities the local

people want have in order to be able to live the life they value?” • We saw the life blood of the economy broader than the circulation of money and

saw it as the exchange of values and knowledge regardless if money is exchanged?  Addressing these questions does not negate the real probability that natural resource extraction development will occur. In reality development of infrastructure is often the catalyst to provide the real opportunities that people need, however, it does question who decides what those needs are and what opportunities are necessary to allow the freedom for an individual or community to decide what is valued in life. In this sense, the focus of economic development through natural resource extractive and management measures should be on enhancing the function of the relationships people have, or require, to build a community engaged in living life well, rather than living a material or dependency-based good life. Involving the local people in decision making up front, in a balance of power, is imperative to building a trusted relationship and ethical development. The capability approach to human development first conceptualized by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum provide the groundwork for re-conceptualizing the means and ends of development. Their focus is on developing individual capabilities through opportunity, freedom and agency. These capabilities allowed an individual to live a life they valued. Past colonial and racist approaches of human development have broken many of the relationships necessary for Indigenous people to live life well according to their worldview and felt responsibilities. These broken relationships have disabled the First Nations to embark on opportunities and exercise freedoms, and have blinded dominant society to the real values of the First Nation worldviews. I propose that a large part of natural resources development should be focused on building the relationships that create a strong healthy community that extends beyond human well-being. Functioning well in these relationships increases the capability of all Treaty People to see the complexities of the “Land” and adapt and respond to the effects of changes to the “Land”. These relationships are about learning and staying connected to our land, history and community in a manner that respects the need for building trust and balancing power.  

The First Nation learning relationships (Canadian Council on Learning , 2011)