As the nineteenth century ended, Ontario wildlife became increasingly valuable. Tourists and sport hunters spent growing amounts of money in search of game, and the government began to extend and exert its regulatory powers in this arena. Restrictions were also imposed on hunting and trapping, completely ignoring Anishinaabeg hunting rights set out in the Robinson Treaties of 1850. Who Controls the Hunt? examines how Ontario's emerging wildlife conservation laws failed to reconcile First Nations treaty rights and the power of the state. David Calverley traces the political and legal arguments prompted by the interplay of treaty rights, provincial and dominion government interests, and the corporate concerns of the Hudson's Bay Company. Indigenous resource use remains a politically and legally significant topic in Canada. Some aspects of First Nations hunting rights have been settled, but questions about species conservation and environmental protection continue to arise. Calverley's nuanced examination of the resource issues at stake has national relevance, and the themes he raises remain germane to questions about who controls the hunt in Canada today.
Who Controls the Hunt? : First Nations, Treaty Rights, and Wildlife Conservation in Ontario, 1783-1939