Lithium Mining on Indigenous Land in Northern Ontario, Canada

The Ring of Fire is a 1,900 square mile mineral-rich region in remote Northern Ontario that is estimated to have lithium deposits worth billions. The recent discovery of lithium has created a bitter conflict between Indigenous First Nations peoples who claim legal rights to the land under treaty agreements and Federal and Provincial governments that claim sovereignty over mining rights. Infrastructure construction, exploration and extraction would have a significant impact on the land and traditional way of life for the native peoples. Students are asked to: analyze legal and ethical issues; identify major points of conflict; examine areas that the parties can agree on; suggest strategies for conflict resolution; and recommend a course of action to resolve the conflict.