Sagamok-Anishnawbek First Nation has withdrawn from the Union of Ontario Indians.
In a notice to the community, chief and council have made the decision to withdraw from the organization for two reasons: Sagamok has its own political authority to deal with the Crown through the Huron-Superior Treaty of 1850 and they state they don’t need a middle man to handle their affairs.
The notice states while the union’s original function was to act as a body for political advocacy, it has become another layer of bureaucracy that siphons off funding it gets for First Nations.
While other First Nations are in the process of working on self-government agreements with the federal government, Sagamok council does not believe it needs one because the right to self-governance is part of the treaty, so council has also withdrawn from that process as part of dissolving their relationship with the union.
The union has not responded for comment.