Treaty 9 was an agreement established in July 1905, between the Government of Canada in the name of King Edward VII and various First Nation band governments in northern Ontario. One First Nation community in the bordering Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec is included in this treaty. It was also known as the "James Bay Treaty," since the eastern end of the affected treaty territory was at the shore of James Bay. Additional signings of First Nations, or adhesions, were conducted in 1906. Further adhesions involving the Ojibway and Swampy Cree tribes were completed in 1929 and 1930.
According to journalist Ron Grech (2011-01-07), the personal diary of Daniel MacMartin who was the Treaty commissioner for the Government of Ontario when the agreement was signed in 1905, written more than 100 years ago but rediscovered by historians at the Queen's University archive, triggered a legal challenge for mining access on First Nation lands. MacMartin's diary suggested "First Nation leaders may have been misled by government negotiators as they were signing Treaty No. 9, says Murray Klippenstein, legal representative for Mushkegowuk Council."
Winisk signing
The treaty is the subject of a 2014 documentary film by Alanis Obomsawin, entitled Trick or Treaty?