Feds apologize; compensate Niisaachewan Anishinaabe nation for 19th century flooding

The federal government apologized and compensated an Ontario First Nation for its role in the erection of two dams that ended up flooding the community’s lands more than a century ago.

The government’s unauthorized construction of the Rollerway Dam in 1887 – and a subsequent project, the Norman Dam, built in 1895 – resulted in rising water levels on the Winnipeg River and flooding in the nearby Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation community.

Lawsuits filed by the community in December 2000 and January 2001 called for governmental reparations for the century’s worth of flooding, and after two decades, the government finally apologized formally, as did the Ontario provincial government.

Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Chief Lorraine Cobiness said the community has been suffering as a result of the dam’s construction without authorization for more than a century.

“Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation has been suffering since 1887 from flooding and unnatural water flows on the Winnipeg River caused by dams at Kenora that impacted and nearly destroyed our way of life, our families, and our community,” she said. “But through the resiliency, strength, and courage of my people, we have been actively working on this claim with the Federal and Provincial Governments for over 20 years to see the resolution of this Settlement Agreement.”

The community was compensated to the tune of $83 million in total compensation, with Canada paying $63.2 million and Ontario paying $19.8 million.

Cobiness said the time has come to turn the page on the past and the community hopes to be part of substantive change in the future in the relationship between the federal government and Indigenous communities.

“In the spirit of reconciliation, we are committed to strengthening and renewing our nation-to-nation relationship by working together in a respectful and honest way to ensure this never happens again,” she said. “Our commitment to this relationship is to ensure the safety and success of my people, our children here now, our grandchildren, and those yet to come for generations by making meaningful change in western systems by asserting our inherent rights and sacred responsibilities through Anishinaabe law and ceremony.”

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations minister Marc Miller formally apologized for the government’s misdeeds.

"On behalf of the Government of Canada, I acknowledge Canada's failure to protect Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation's interests and act without considering their loss of culture, heritage and traditional economy,” he said. “With the successful resolution of this settlement agreement, we are taking a step toward reconciliation and to renewing our nation-to-nation relationship with Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation."

The Ontario provincial government, represented by Ontario Indigenous Affairs minister Greg Rickford, also formally apologized.

Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase