Indigenous Water Governance in the Great Lakes Basin: Treaty Rights, Stewardship, and Policy

The Great Lakes basin is home to dozens of Indigenous nations whose connections to these waters predate European contact by thousands of years. Today, Indigenous communities across the basin are asserting water governance rights through legal action, direct stewardship initiatives, and growing participation in binational water management institutions. Their involvement is reshaping how Great Lakes water quality, fisheries, and resource extraction decisions are made.

Treaty Rights and Legal Framework

Indigenous water rights in the Great Lakes basin flow from multiple legal sources. In Canada, Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights, which courts have consistently interpreted to include rights related to water, fisheries, and the environmental conditions necessary to exercise those rights.

The Robinson-Huron Treaty (1850) and Robinson-Superior Treaty (1850) cover the Canadian shorelines of Lakes Huron and Superior respectively, encompassing territory that includes some of the most ecologically significant areas of the Great Lakes basin. In 2024, the Ontario Superior Court ruled in Restoule v. Canada that the Crown has an obligation to meaningfully increase the annuities paid under these treaties, a landmark decision with potential implications for resource revenue sharing from Great Lakes resources.

In the United States, the 1836 Treaty of Washington and the 1842 Treaty of La Pointe reserve fishing rights for Ojibwe tribes across large portions of the upper Great Lakes. These rights were upheld and clarified in a series of federal court decisions, most significantly the 2007 consent decree that allocates fishing quotas between tribal and state-licensed fishers in Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior.

Water Governance Initiatives

The Anishinabek Nation, representing 39 First Nations across Ontario, has been developing an Anishinabek Water Declaration that asserts inherent jurisdiction over water within their territories. The declaration, adopted in principle by the Anishinabek Nation Grand Council in 2023, states that water is a living entity with rights, reflecting traditional Anishinaabe teachings about the relationship between human communities and the natural world.

This perspective, sometimes described as “water as relative” rather than “water as resource,” represents a fundamental alternative to the utilitarian frameworks that have dominated Western water management. The Anishinabek Nation is seeking formal recognition of this governance approach within the binational Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement framework.

Several Great Lakes First Nations have established their own water monitoring programs. The Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation on the Bruce Peninsula operate a water quality monitoring station on Georgian Bay that feeds data into both community decision-making processes and the broader provincial monitoring network. The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte conduct regular water quality testing of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory shoreline on the Bay of Quinte, an area of Lake Ontario designated as an Area of Concern under the GLWQA.

Environmental Stewardship

Indigenous-led conservation efforts are contributing to Great Lakes restoration. The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), representing 11 Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, operates one of the most comprehensive biological monitoring programs in the upper Great Lakes. GLIFWC’s scientists conduct fish population surveys, invasive species monitoring, and wild rice habitat assessments that complement and often exceed the scope of state monitoring programs.

In Ontario, the Walpole Island First Nation, located at the mouth of the St. Clair River where it enters Lake St. Clair, manages one of the largest remaining coastal wetland complexes in the Great Lakes basin. The Bkejwanong Territory Wetland, covering over 20 square kilometres, provides critical habitat for migratory waterfowl, spawning fish, and over 60 species at risk. The community’s environmental team conducts ongoing monitoring and has partnered with researchers at the University of Windsor to study the impacts of upstream industrial discharges on wetland health.

The Oneida Nation of the Thames in southwestern Ontario has been leading a restoration project on Oneida Creek, a tributary of the Thames River that flows into Lake St. Clair. The project involves removing barriers to fish passage, restoring riparian vegetation, and monitoring water quality improvements. The work is funded through a combination of federal Great Lakes Protection Initiative funds and community resources.

Representation in Governance Institutions

Indigenous participation in formal Great Lakes governance institutions has increased but remains limited. The International Joint Commission established a Traditional Ecological Knowledge advisory group in 2020 to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into its assessments. The IJC’s 2024 Triennial Assessment included, for the first time, a dedicated chapter on Indigenous water governance and the integration of traditional ecological knowledge with Western science.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, as amended in 2012, includes provisions for consulting with Indigenous peoples on matters affecting the Great Lakes. However, Indigenous organizations have argued that consultation falls short of the government-to-government relationship that treaty rights require. The Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution in 2024 calling for First Nations to be recognized as parties to the GLWQA alongside Canada and the United States, rather than as stakeholders to be consulted by the parties.

Looking Forward

The growing assertion of Indigenous water governance rights in the Great Lakes basin reflects broader trends in Canadian and international law regarding Indigenous rights and environmental stewardship. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which Canada committed to implementing through federal legislation (the UNDRIP Act, 2021), affirms Indigenous peoples’ rights to maintain and strengthen their spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned lands, territories, waters, and other resources.

As climate change, contamination, and competing demands place increasing pressure on Great Lakes water resources, the integration of Indigenous governance approaches with existing regulatory frameworks will likely become more important and more contested. The outcome of ongoing treaty litigation, governance negotiations, and collaborative stewardship initiatives will shape the future of Great Lakes management for decades to come.