Who Controls the Hunt?

First Nations, Treaty Rights, and Wildlife Conservation in Ontario, 1783-1939. Tracing the connections between colonialism and the early conservation movement in Ontario, Who Controls the Hunt? examines the contentious issue of treaty hunting rights and the impact of conservation laws on First Nations.

As the nineteenth century ended, the popularity of sport hunting grew and Ontario wildlife became increasingly valuable. Restrictions were 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. A nuanced examination of Indigenous resource issues, the themes of this book remain germane to questions about who controls the hunt in Canada today.