A 200-Year-Old Agreement in Southwestern Ontario

Date & Time: Wednesday, March 18, 2026 – 7:00 p.m.
Location: To Be Determined
Guest Speaker:   Chief Del Riley with Mark French
Hosted by: Glencoe & District Historical Society

On March 9, 1819, representatives of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and the British Crown signed what became known as Treaty 21—the first of three written versions of the agreement now commonly called the Longwoods Treaty. This treaty set in motion a process that still shapes southwestern Ontario today.

Chief Del Riley from Chippewa of the Thames will tell us a little bit of a huge history:  He writes in his book, The Last President, “My love for Indigenous people runs deep and I dedicated myself fully to our rights and equality.  My greatest legacy professionally speaking was successfully fighting for the inclusion of Section 35 in the Canadian Constitution when I was national leader.  Section 35 gives us a foundation to build upon for generations to come as it recognises, affirms, and protects ‘the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of Indians, Inuit and Metis.’  Over time, the Supreme Court of Canada would decide that Section 35 be interpreted so that anyone who wishes to use Indigenous lands must uphold “the duty to consult and accommodate.”

The Longwoods Treaty covered land north of the Thames River, stretching from Strathroy and Komoka in the east to Oil Springs in the west, Bothwell in the south, and Watford in the north. While the second version (1820) repeated the same boundaries, the third version (1822) listed the land as 580,000 acres—a “rounding up” that continues to raise questions about accuracy and fairness.

Unlike earlier treaties, such as one that exchanged two million acres south of the Thames for a one-time payment of goods worth less than $5,000, Treaty 21 introduced the concept of an annuity. For the Longwoods Treaty, the Crown promised $2,400 annually, in perpetuity. While the payment is still made today, it goes into Canada’s consolidated revenue fund rather than directly to the First Nation.

Historical records also show that Indigenous leaders came to negotiations with their own vision for the future, including land for additional reserves, a blacksmith, and support for animal husbandry. Yet none of these provisions were written into the treaty.

Language and worldview also played a role in shaping outcomes. The treaty text, rooted in British legal nomenclature, could not be translated directly into Anishinaabemowin. The very concept of drawing lines on the ground to buy and sell land was foreign to the First Nations worldview, which saw the people as stewards of the land rather than owners.

Treaty 21 is more than a historical document—it is a window into the complex relationships, misunderstandings, and negotiations between Indigenous peoples and the Crown. It also raises questions about what was truly agreed to, and how responsibilities to the land continue to this day.

For more context, you can view the official map of Ontario treaties here:
👉 Map of Ontario Treaties and Reserves