Coming Out of the Shadows

Abstract

The 1979-1982 Ardoch-Mud Lake wild rice confrontation is a microcosm of aboriginal issues throughout Canada. It began when the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) issued a wild rice harvesting license to a private harvester without consultation with local peoples. This action shocked and mobilized the community, and raised many broader issues. The wild rice community at Ardoch consists of non-status Algonquin, status Mississauga, and non-aboriginal residents. These people found themselves entangled in a system of laws that ignored their values, interests, access to, and authority over a local resource. They faced a history of exclusion regarding Algonquin peoples, Aboriginal rights, and local communities’ wishes to shape their own environments. The story of the Ardoch Algonquin community and its historical connection to the Mud Lake wild rice not only demonstrates a community’s attachment to its environment, but also shows the great potential for unity in adversity between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. Part I describes the settlement and development of the Ardoch region, including the local wild rice history; the exclusion and denial of Algonquin and other Aboriginal people in the Ottawa valley; and the evolution of Aboriginal and resource policies in Canada. Part II uses academic writing and research on resources, Aboriginal issues, the mechanics of power and social categories to analyze this history. The author pieces together the story from documentary and original sources, then explores the themes of authority and Aboriginal rights, ‘Indianness’, and resource use, management, and development contained within. By contrasting state