In 1993 Donald Marshal, a Mi’kmaq Indian, was charged with fishing for eel in Pomquet Harbour, Nova Scotia, in violation of federal fisheries regulations. Although this appeared to be innocuous, Marshal’s actions were intended to bring before the courts the question of First Nations resource rights in Atlantic Canada. Marshal and his supporters argued that the aboriginal right to manage and harvest natural resources and sell them for financial gain had never been extinguished and was recognized in treaties signed with Britain in the …
Frank Duerden
Frank Duerden is a professor in the School of Applied Geography at Ryerson University. He has worked extensively on land and resource issues with First Nations.