Indigenous Jurisdiction in Ontario: Land and Resource Development in Ardoch Algonquin First Nation Territory

This thesis investigates resource development involving Aboriginal communities, with a focus on Ontario, and the factors that generate conflict. It explores the frameworks governing mining and the environmental effects of these activities, with a specific focus on the relationships between these activities and Indigenous jurisdiction; the conflict at Ardoch was used as a case study to illustrate these issues. The theoretical framework adopted for this research was an Indigenous Environmental Studies approach, which employs both Western and Indigenous environmental analyses. The issues involved in this study were explored with attention to the ways in which they have influenced Indigenous jurisdictional debates and frameworks. Primary data were gathered through interviews with key informants involved in the conflict at Ardoch. A main finding was that one of the fundamental issues leading to conflicts is the denial of Indigenous jurisdiction. Additional problems identified by participants were rooted in colonial paradigms and provincial and federal environmental policies.