The Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) is calling on the federal and provincial governments to come to the table for negotiations on the future of their water territory, following the Nation’s decision to discontinue a two-decade Aboriginal title claim.
In an open letter released Wednesday, June 11, 2025, the Chiefs and Councils of Saugeen First Nation and the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation urged Canada and Ontario to fulfill their treaty obligations and recognize SON’s jurisdiction over the waters of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, waters they say they have cared for and governed since time immemorial.
"Our goal is to raise awareness and build momentum that will encourage the Crown to engage with us in a respectful and constructive way," said Rachel Renfrew, Communications Manager for the Chippewas of Nawash.
The letter, addressed to federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty and Ontario Minister of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford, expresses deep frustration with what SON calls "decades of disregard" from the Crown governments. It outlines how stressors such as invasive species, shoreline hardening, and nuclear development have harmed SON’s water territory without adequate consultation or recognition of their rights.
"We have never given up our jurisdiction over our water territory," the letter states. "And none of our treaties with the Crown speak of surrendering our water territory."
The Nations say they hold court-recognized Aboriginal and treaty rights to fish in the territory, including the right to manage those waters in a way that supports the health and sustainability of the fishery. Despite this, SON says Canada and Ontario have failed to meaningfully involve them in decision-making or recognize their role as a self-determining Nation.
In 2004, SON filed a legal claim seeking Aboriginal title over lakebeds stretching from south of Goderich to west of Collingwood. That claim was dismissed by a trial judge in 2021, but partially revived by the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2023, which ordered further proceedings to determine whether SON had established title to specific portions of the claim area.
However, SON has now opted to withdraw from that legal process, citing deep concerns with the colonial nature of the Canadian court system.
"The doctrine of Aboriginal title, as it currently stands, is fundamentally flawed," the letter states. "It is rooted in the racist doctrine of discovery, forcing Indigenous peoples to spend millions of dollars and decades in court just to prove what we already know, that we are the stewards of this water."
The Chiefs of both Saugeen First Nation and the Chippewas of Nawash are now calling for an end to what they see as legal gridlock and inaction.
"The Crown governments’ disregard for our rights is deplorable," said Saugeen First Nation Ogimaa (Chief) Conrad Ritchie and Chippewas of Nawash Ogimaa Gregory Nadjiwon in the joint letter. "But it is not too late for the Crown governments to do the right thing."
SON says it is ready to work with Canada and Ontario to define a respectful and just framework for shared jurisdiction over their water territory. What they need, they say, is a willing partner.