On 12 July 1905, at Osnaburgh House (Ontario), signing begins on Treaty 9 — the James Bay Treaty — the agreement between the Canadian Crown and First Nations of northern Ontario on land cession, reserves and annuities.

Negotiated by federal and provincial commissioners with Cree and Ojibwe leaders, the treaty covers a vast James Bay basin area and was later completed by adhesions into 1930.

The text provides reserves, annual payments and hunting and fishing rights, amid resource exploitation and railway construction.

Interpretations of “cession” and unwritten rights (harvesting, autonomy) remain central in contemporary Treaty 9 litigation.

For Canadian Indigenous treaty law, 12 July 1905 marks the opening of James Bay Treaty signing.

The official text is published by Crown-Indigenous Relations / Library and Archives Canada.

Treaty 9 of 12 July 1905 remains the James Bay milestone of Canada’s numbered treaties.

Image: James Bay / Ontario; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Treaty 9. Treaty text: Treaty No. 9 (CIRNAC Canada).