Ottawa means “to trade” in Algonquin
Indigenous people have gathered in “Ottawa” since time immemorial for the purpose of trade and exchange. Ottawa is “unceded” land, meaning that Indigenous people never sold it to the Crown and that the land is subject to the terms of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which expressly guarantee the right of Indians to “free and open trade” with all of his Majesty‘s subjects.
In 2023, Indigenous cannabis dispensary trading posts began opening in Ottawa. Their owners reached out to the City and the Ottawa Police Service to explain their constitutionally protected rights and to request meetings to discuss the rights issues at stake. For two years, the Ottawa Police Service refused to meet Indigenous representatives. In April of 2025, Supt. Jamie Dunlop of the Ottawa Police Service sent letters to the landlords of the Indigenous stores threatening them with $50,000 fines if they did not evict their Indigenous tenants within 30 days.
The actions of the Ottawa Police Service represent a complete failure to uphold the principles of reconciliation adopted by the City of Ottawa and are a violation of the Royal Proclamation, s. 35 of Canada’s Constitution Act and the Covenant Chain treaty agreement.
Indigenous store owners in the city are fighting back by creating the Ottawa 1701 Treaty Trade Council to address these issues and are working to uphold Indigenous agreements such as the Dish with One Spoon and the Two Row Wampum. The Ottawa 1701 Treaty Trade Council is calling for a protest of the OPS on Wednesday May 14th at noon at 474 Elgin St, Ottawa. A public meeting will be held at 2pm at a location to be announced.
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