Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal title has been recognized in Common Law in Canada since the Privy Council, in "St. Catharines Milling v. The Queen" (1888), characterized it as a personal usufruct at the pleasure of the Queen. This case did not involve indigenous parties, but rather was a lumber dispute between the provincial government of Ontario and the federal government of Canada. "St. Catharines" was decided in the wake of the "Indian Act" (1876), which laid out an assimilationist policy towards the Aboriginal peoples in Canada (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis). It allowed provinces to abrogate treaties (until 1951), and, from 1927, made it a federal crime to prosecute First Nation claims in court, raise money, or organize to pursue such claims.