Robinson-Superior Treaty annuity payments

The Robinson-Superior Treaty annuity payments are the yearly payments made by the Crown under the Robinson-Superior Treaty of 7 September 1850 to the Ojibwe nations of the northern shore of Lake Superior. This article collects the printed yearly totals from 1850 to 1900, with the number of persons paid and the rate per head where those figures were also printed, and a modern Canadian-dollar equivalent from this wiki's inflation index. Years for which a printed Lake Superior total has not yet been found are marked "not yet found". No figure in the table is an estimate. Combined Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior vote totals, and other caveated lines, are confined to the notes column and are never presented as Superior-only totals.

Background

The treaty was concluded at Sault Ste. Marie on 7 September 1850. The official text records a payment of £2,000 of "good and lawful money of Upper Canada" "to them in hand paid," and "the further perpetual annuity of five hundred pounds," to be paid and delivered to the chiefs and their tribes each summer, not later than the first day of August, at the Hudson's Bay Company posts of Michipicoton and Fort William. The chiefs named in the text are Joseph Peandechat, John Iuinway, Mishe-Muckqua and Totomencie, with the principal men also named there. The treaty states "their present numbers (which is twelve hundred and forty)." If the ceded territory later produced enough to allow an increase "without incurring loss," the annuity was to be augmented, "provided that the amount paid to each individual shall not exceed the sum of one pound provincial currency in any one year, or such further sum as Her Majesty may be graciously pleased to order." Later Department of Indian Affairs accounts treat the £500 annuity as $2,000 and capitalize it as a $40,000 Superior account at 5 per cent; that dollar figure is not in the treaty text itself. The 1858 Pennefather commission report already restates the 1850 amounts in dollars: $16,640 paid down, of which $8,000 went to the Lake Superior Indians, and a perpetual annuity commencing at $4,400, of which $2,000 is divided among those inhabiting the shores of Lake Superior (with a marginal sterling equivalent of £500). It also records that "no increase in the annuity is yet warranted by the sums realised from the surrendered lands."

By an Order in Council of 22 July 1875, the annuities payable under the Robinson treaties of 1850 to the Ojibwe of Lakes Huron and Superior were advanced to $4 a head, described in the 1875 annual report as the maximum amount to which, under the terms of those treaties, they could be increased. The same report states that the previous rate had been less than one dollar per capita in one case, and slightly over that amount in the other. The 1875 increase applied to both Robinson treaties; that paragraph does not give a Superior-only total or headcount. From the 1890s the printed Superior accounts often split the payment between J. P. Donnelly (and, from 1898, J.F. Hodder) on the western Lake Superior / Port Arthur side and William Van Abbott on the eastern side, including Michipicoten.

Yearly totals, 1850–1900

Unless a note says otherwise, figures taken from the Department of Indian Affairs annual reports are for the fiscal year ended 30 June of the year shown. The modern-equivalent columns use {{Inflation}} with the Canadian index CA, expressed in 2025 Canadian dollars. Per-person paid, the modern equivalent of that figure, and the derived per-head-of-population column are explained in one line each under the table. That series, in {{Inflation/CA/dataset}}, runs from 1688 to 2025 and therefore covers every year in this table. It is not applied to pound amounts. The Bank of Canada inflation calculator and Statistics Canada's official consumer price index (Historical Statistics of Canada, series K8–18) begin only in 1913 or 1914, so they cannot themselves be used for 1850–1900.

Lines printed in 1870–1873 as "Distribution" or "Distribution (general)" in the Northern Superintendency accounts are not expressly labelled "Robinson treaty annuities." They are shown in the total-paid column with that label, and are not treated as proven per-head annuity totals. Where a later report prints only a combined Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior vote, or an agent line that is not labelled as a Lake Superior total, the Superior-only total is marked "not yet found" and the combined or caveated figure is described in the notes column only. From 1898, official Port Arthur Agency pay-list recaps are entered in the total-paid and persons columns and labelled as agency figures; they do not include Michipicoten or other eastern bands, and are not treated as printed all-Superior totals. Printed Lake Superior annuity totals for 1851–1869 have not yet been found in the post-1868 Indian Affairs annual-report series. The 1858 Pennefather commission report restates the 1850 treaty amounts in dollars and gives "at present" band counts, but it does not print annual payment totals for 1851–1858. Volume 1 tables of contents of the Province of Canada Sessional Papers for 1860–66 and of the Dominion Sessional Papers for 1867–8 do not list an Indian Department annual return; later volumes of those sessions, Public Accounts interiors, and the remaining 1859 journals remain to be read.

Year	Total paid	Persons paid	Printed rate per head	Per person paid	Modern equivalent of per person paid (2025 Canadian dollars)	Per head of population (derived)	Modern equivalent of total paid (2025 Canadian dollars)	Source	Notes
1850	£2,000 down payment (printed as paid at the treaty); the first £500 annuity installment is not yet found	not printed (the treaty states "present numbers" of 1,240, not a count of persons paid)	not printed (augmentation cap of £1 provincial currency per person)	n/a	n/a	n/a	not applied (amount is in pounds of Upper Canada; the CA series is a Canadian-dollar index)		The treaty also provided a perpetual annuity of £500, payable each summer not later than 1 August at the Hudson's Bay Company posts of Michipicoton and Fort William. Later Dominion accounts treat that £500 as $2,000 (capitalized as $40,000 at 5 per cent); that dollar figure is not in the treaty text. The 1858 Pennefather commission report restates the same figures in dollars ($8,000 paid down to the Lake Superior Indians and a $2,000 perpetual annuity). Appendix No. 35 of that report lists the consideration for the "Ojibewas of Lake Superior" surrender as £500 0 0, with acres "Not known."
1851	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The 1858 Pennefather commission report was read for these years; it does not print an annual Robinson-Superior payment total, a number of persons paid, or per-band payment amounts for 1851–1857.
1852	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The 1858 Pennefather commission report was read for these years; it does not print an annual Robinson-Superior payment total, a number of persons paid, or per-band payment amounts for 1851–1857.
1853	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The 1858 Pennefather commission report was read for these years; it does not print an annual Robinson-Superior payment total, a number of persons paid, or per-band payment amounts for 1851–1857.
1854	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The 1858 Pennefather commission report was read for these years; it does not print an annual Robinson-Superior payment total, a number of persons paid, or per-band payment amounts for 1851–1857.
1855	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The 1858 Pennefather commission report was read for these years; it does not print an annual Robinson-Superior payment total, a number of persons paid, or per-band payment amounts for 1851–1857.
1856	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The 1858 Pennefather commission report was read for these years; it does not print an annual Robinson-Superior payment total, a number of persons paid, or per-band payment amounts for 1851–1857.
1857	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The 1858 Pennefather commission report was read for these years; it does not print an annual Robinson-Superior payment total, a number of persons paid, or per-band payment amounts for 1851–1857.
1858	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The report prints that "no increase in the annuity is yet warranted by the sums realised from the surrendered lands," and gives "at present" band counts (see Population by band), but it does not print a Robinson-Superior payment total, a number of persons paid, or per-band payment amounts for 1858. It states that the Lake Superior annuities were paid through the Hudson's Bay Company, that unclaimed shares had accumulated, and that many refused to receive "this year" their money, without printing dollar amounts for those items.
1859	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The Public Accounts of the Province of Canada for the year 1859 print, under "INDIAN ANNUITIES," "To pay usual Annuity to the Indians of Lakes Huron and Superior for 1859" $4,400.00. That combined Huron-and-Superior figure is not a Superior-only total and is not entered as the printed total here. A Superior-only printed payment remains a gap. The 1858 Pennefather appendix does not print an 1859 payment.
1860	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The Public Accounts of the Province of Canada for 1860 print, under "INDIAN ANNUITIES," "To pay Annuities in Upper Canada, for year ending 30th September, 1860, as also to the Indians of Lower Canada, including the Grant of $4000." Component amounts on that heading include $26,620.00 and $3,650.00. No line labelled Lakes Huron and Superior, or Lake Superior only, appears under that heading. Those figures are not a Superior-only total and are not entered as the printed total here. A Superior-only printed payment remains a gap.
1861	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The Public Accounts of the Province of Canada for 1861 print, under "INDIAN ANNUITIES," paid through the Receiver General and C. T. Walcot, "To pay Annuities in Upper Canada for year ended 30th September" (the year after September is cut at the gutter) and "do to Indians of Lakes Huron and Superior, as of Lower Canada, including the Legislative Grant of $40" (the remainder of that grant figure is cut at the gutter). A "Total Indian Annuities" line is present. The printed index lists "Annuities, Indian" at Part I, p. 114, which is Education, Canada East; the heading is on p. 131, immediately after Pensions and before Public Works and Buildings. The amount columns of p. 131 are cropped by the binding in the Canadiana scan (confirmed on the native-width image), so the line amounts and the heading total are not recovered from this image. The following year's Public Accounts print a comparative statement of payments with a heading-level Indian Annuities total of $35,420.00 for 1861; that figure is a heading total, not a Superior-only line. The "Lakes Huron and Superior" line is a combined figure and also includes Lower Canada and a legislative grant. Those figures are not a Superior-only total and are not entered as the printed total here. A Superior-only printed payment remains a gap.
1862	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The Public Accounts of the Province of Canada for 1862 print, under "INDIAN ANNUITIES," a single line paid through the Commissioner of Crown Lands: "To enable him to pay annuities to Indians, in Lower Canada, year ended 30th September, 1862" $26,620.00. The printed index lists "Annuities, Indian" at Part I, p. 107, which is Penitentiary / Expenses of the Legislature; the heading is at the foot of p. 126, immediately after "Total Pensions" $42,473.03 and before Public Works and Buildings. No line labelled Lakes Huron and Superior, or Lake Superior only, appears under that heading. The same volume's comparative statement of payments prints a heading-level Indian Annuities total of $26,620.00 for 1862, matching this one line. That figure is not a Superior-only total and is not entered as the printed total here. A Superior-only printed payment remains a gap.
1863	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The Public Accounts of the Province of Canada for 1863 print, under "INDIAN ANNUITIES," "Amount to be distributed amongst Lakes Huron and Superior Indians" $4,400.00. That combined figure is not a Superior-only total and is not entered as the printed total here. A Superior-only printed payment remains a gap.
1864	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The Public Accounts of the Province of Canada for 1864 print, under "INDIAN ANNUITIES," an "Annual grant to the Lower Canadian Indians for 1864" $4,000.00 and "For payment of annuities for half-year ended 31st March, 1864" $13,310.00, totalling $17,310.00. No line labelled Lakes Huron and Superior, or Lake Superior only, appears under that heading. Those figures are not a Superior-only total and are not entered as the printed total here. A Superior-only printed payment remains a gap.
1865	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The Public Accounts index for the year ended 30 June 1865 lists "Annuities, Indian" at Part I, p. 108 (p. 104 in the same index is "Arts, Agriculture and Statistics," not Indian Annuities). Page 108 prints, under "INDIAN ANNUITIES," an "Annual grant to Lower Canadian Indians and new annuities" $4,400.00, "For payment of annuities for year ending 30th June, 1865" $26,620.00, and "Annuities due to Indian Funds" $9,200.00, totalling $40,220.00. No line labelled Lakes Huron and Superior, or Lake Superior only, appears under that heading. Those figures are not a Superior-only total and are not entered as the printed total here. A Superior-only printed payment remains a gap.
1866	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The first-year Public Accounts in the Sessional Papers of 30 Victoria, A. 1867, No. 2, Part I, p. 135, print, under "INDIAN ANNUITIES," "To enable him to pay the annuities, for half year ended 31st March, 1866" $22,110.00, paid through Hon. A. Campbell. The same block's recapitulation prints "Charged to Consolidated Fund" $22,110.50. No line labelled Lakes Huron and Superior, or Lake Superior only, appears under that heading. Those figures are not a Superior-only total and are not entered as the printed total here. A Superior-only printed payment remains a gap.
1867	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The Public Accounts of the Province of Canada for the year ended 30 June 1867 index "Annuities, Indian" at Part I, p. 107. That page prints an "INDIAN ANNUITIES" block whose visible wording includes "year ended 31st March, 1867" and a recapitulation of $35,420.00. A native-width image of p. 107 (2,208 × 3,685 pixels, no upscale) was read; the left-hand wording of the component lines remains cropped in the Canadiana source leaf itself (the left margin of both p. 106 and p. 107 is blank), so a line labelled Lakes Huron and Superior, or Lake Superior only, is still not confirmed or ruled out. The $35,420.00 recapitulation is not entered as the printed total here. A Superior-only printed payment remains a gap.
1868	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found	—	—
1869	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found	—	—
1870	$1,996.14 (printed as "Distribution")	not printed	not printed	n/a	n/a	$1.33 (derived: $1,996.14 ÷ 1,502 as enumerated on the pay lists; dividend is the printed "Distribution" line, not expressly Robinson treaty annuities)	$65,783 in 2025		Printed as "Distribution" in the Northern Superintendency accounts, not expressly as "Robinson treaty annuities." The amounts are close to the $2,000 perpetual annuity later capitalized in the $40,000 Superior account, but they are not treated here as a proven per-head annuity total.
1871	$2,086.51 (printed as "Distribution")	not printed	not printed	n/a	n/a	$1.44 (derived: $2,086.51 ÷ 1,453 census / tabular population; dividend is the printed "Distribution" line, not expressly Robinson treaty annuities)	$66,577 in 2025		Printed as "Distribution" in the Northern Superintendency accounts, not expressly as "Robinson treaty annuities." The amounts are close to the $2,000 perpetual annuity later capitalized in the $40,000 Superior account, but they are not treated here as a proven per-head annuity total.
1872	$1,961.47 (printed as "Distribution")	not printed	not printed	n/a	n/a	$1.50 (derived: $1,961.47 ÷ 1,312 census / tabular population; dividend is the printed "Distribution" line, not expressly Robinson treaty annuities)	$67,393 in 2025		Printed as "Distribution" in the Northern Superintendency accounts, not expressly as "Robinson treaty annuities." The amounts are close to the $2,000 perpetual annuity later capitalized in the $40,000 Superior account, but they are not treated here as a proven per-head annuity total. A separate "Distribution" of $383.92 to the Batchewana Indians is printed on the next line and is not included here.
1873	$1,946.84 (printed as "Distribution")	not printed	not printed	n/a	n/a	$1.48 (derived: $1,946.84 ÷ 1,312 census / tabular population; dividend is the printed "Distribution (general)" line, not expressly Robinson treaty annuities)	$63,635 in 2025		Printed as "Distribution (general)" in the Northern Superintendency accounts, not expressly as "Robinson treaty annuities." The amounts are close to the $2,000 perpetual annuity later capitalized in the $40,000 Superior account, but they are not treated here as a proven per-head annuity total.
1874	$2,000.00	not printed	not printed	n/a	n/a	$1.34 (derived: $2,000.00 ÷ 1,488 census / tabular population)	$59,560 in 2025		Printed as "Distribution of Robinson treaty money" $2,000.00, "Ojibbewas of Lake Superior generally," paid through the agent of the Hudson's Bay Company and William Van Abbott. This is the last full fiscal year at the pre-augmentation rate.
1875	$2,000.00 (analyzed balance-sheet expenditure)	not printed	not printed	n/a	n/a	$1.34 (derived: $2,000.00 ÷ 1,488 census / tabular population)	$60,928 in 2025		This $2,000.00 is the expenditure on the analyzed balance sheet for the Ojibwe of Lake Superior in the fiscal year ended 30 June 1875. That report has no heading "Distribution of Robinson treaty money". The fiscal year ended before the Order in Council of 22 July 1875, which raised the annuity to $4 a head; do not treat this line as a $4-per-head payroll.
1876	$5,200.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	$2.77 (derived: $5,200.00 ÷ 1,875 census / tabular population)	$171,368 in 2025		Printed in the 1877 report as "Robinson treaty annuities for 1876" $5,200.00. The analyzed balance sheet in the 1876 report shows a legislative-grant or interest expenditure of $3,058.48, a different basis from the $5,200 annuity line, and not a proven $4-per-head total.
1877	not yet found	not yet found	not yet found	n/a	n/a	n/a	not yet found		The 1877 report's Superior account charges "Robinson treaty annuities for 1876" $5,200.00, which is entered under 1876. No separately labelled 1877 payment line was found in that block. The List of Sessional Papers for 1878 contains no Auditor General's report; Public Accounts for the fiscal year ended 30 June 1877 are Sessional Paper No. 5 in Volume 6. A standalone Auditor General Superior line for that fiscal year was therefore not printed in the 1878 sessional papers. The Public Accounts themselves (No. 5, Part II, p. 178) print, under "INDIANS (LEGISLATIVE GRANTS)," a "Legislative Grant to bring up the annuities payable under the Robinson Treaty to the Chippewas of Lakes Huron and Superior, from 90 cents to $4 per head" $11,000.00. That combined Huron-and-Superior legislative grant is not a Superior-only annuity payroll and is not entered as the printed total here.
1878	$6,400.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	$3.29 (derived: $6,400.00 ÷ 1,947 census / tabular population)	$257,329 in 2025		—
1879	$4,980.69	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$188,949 in 2025		—
1880	$6,920.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	$4.29 (derived: $6,920.00 ÷ 1,613 census / tabular population)	$237,762 in 2025		—
1881	$6,544.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	$3.67 (derived: $6,544.00 ÷ 1,782 census / tabular population)	$205,572 in 2025		—
1882	$7,148.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	$3.87 (derived: $7,148.00 ÷ 1,848 census / tabular population)	$209,799 in 2025		—
1883	$7,488.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	$3.98 (derived: $7,488.00 ÷ 1,883 census / tabular population)	$237,022 in 2025		—
1884	$7,056.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$234,462 in 2025		—
1885	$5,825.10	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$212,920 in 2025		—
1886	$8,616.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$333,062 in 2025		—
1887	$8,500.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$319,441 in 2025		—
1888	$8,404.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$279,255 in 2025		—
1889	$8,348.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$307,949 in 2025		—
1890	$8,572.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$325,191 in 2025		The Auditor General's Report for the year ended 30 June 1890 prints a combined Robinson Treaty figure, not a Superior-only total: "Annuities under Robinson Treaty" grant $15,588.00 plus a supplementary $2,620.76, with expenditure $18,208.76 (p. A-67), repeated as "Robinson Treaty annuities" $18,208.76 on the Eastern Provinces details at p. C-149, with no Lake Superior split. The $8,572.00 figure above is the Superior-labelled "To Distribution of Robinson Treaty annuity" line in the Indian Affairs account current.
1891	$8,698.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$312,239 in 2025		—
1892	$6,804.00 (printed as "Ojibeways and Ottawas of Lake Superior")	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$268,188 in 2025		From the Auditor General's Report for the fiscal year ended 30 June 1892 (Sessional Papers 1893, Part D, p. D-19), under the heading "Robinson Treaty Annuities": "Ojibeways and Ottawas of Manitoulin Island" $10,002.00; "Ojibeways and Ottawas of Lake Superior" $6,804.00; total $16,806.00. The $6,804.00 is the Superior-labelled line, recorded as printed (the heading names "Ottawas" as well as "Ojibeways"). A headcount is not printed on that line. A combined Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior vote line in the Indian Affairs annual report for the same fiscal year, not a Superior-only total, is printed as "144 Robinson Treaty annuities" $16,806.00. That annual report does not print a matching line-item in the Superior account current.
1893	$5,804.00 (printed as "Ojibeways of Lake Superior")	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$224,361 in 2025		From the Auditor General's Report for the fiscal year ended 30 June 1893 (Sessional Papers 1894, Part D, p. D-18), under the heading "Robinson Treaty Annuities": "Ojibeways and Ottawas of Manitoulin Island" $11,002.00; "Ojibeways of Lake Superior" $5,804.00; total $16,806.00. The $5,804.00 is the Superior-labelled line, recorded as printed (this year's wording is "Ojibeways of Lake Superior", without "and Ottawas"). A headcount is not printed on that line. A combined Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior vote line in the Indian Affairs annual report for the same fiscal year, not a Superior-only total, is printed as "144 Robinson Treaty annuities" $16,806.00, and is confirmed as the total of those two treaty lines on the same Auditor General pages. That annual report does not print a matching line-item in the Superior account current.
1894	$8,332.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$352,580 in 2025		Printed as two agent payments, combined here as the Superior total: paid by J.P. Donnelly $7,068.00; paid by Wm. Van Abbott $1,264.00.
1895	$8,592.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$367,464 in 2025		Printed as two agent payments, combined here as the Superior total: paid by J.P. Donnelly $7,272.00; paid by Wm. Van Abbott $1,320.00. Separate arrears line, not included in the total above: Ojibbewas of Lake Superior $48.00.
1896	$8,288.00	2,072	$4 (printed "at $4 each")	$4.00 ($8,288.00 ÷ 2,072)	$196 in 2025	n/a (no printed Superior census total for this year; per-band table figures are not summed)	$406,357 in 2025		Printed with headcounts: J. P. Donnelly paid 1,758 persons at $4 each ($7,032.00); William Van Abbott paid 314 persons at $4 each ($1,256.00). Separate arrears lines, not included in the total above: Joseph Maquay, three persons $12.00; Joseph Collins, four persons $16.00.
1897	$8,366.00	not printed	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a headcount in this year's account)	n/a	n/a	n/a	$395,662 in 2025		Printed as "Robinson Treaty annuities distributed" $8,366.00.
1898	Combined Port Arthur Agency and Michipicoten recaps: $7,144.00	1,928 (1,596 + 332; see notes)	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a rate on the recaps)	n/a ($7,144.00 is not $4 × the combined printed 1,928; see notes)	n/a	n/a (no single printed Superior census total is used as a divisor here)	$305,536 in 2025	; ;	This $7,144.00 is the sum of two official recaps, not a single printed all-Superior form: the Port Arthur Agency recap of $5,816.00 (C-7169 image 526, volume page 86, certified by J.F. Hodder) plus the Michipicoten line of $1,328.00 for 332 persons paid on the Sault Ste. Marie Agency recap for 1898 (C-7169 image 283, RG 10 vol. 9509, volume page 44, certified by William Van Abbott). $1,328.00 = 332 × $4. The Port Arthur inked "Number Paid" total is 1,596, written over a struck 1,454; the six principal band counts (Fort William, Red Rock, Nepigon, Pays Plat, Pic and Long Lake) sum to 1,454. Combined printed person-counts are 1,596 + 332 = 1,928; $7,144.00 is not $4 × 1,928. Adding the six principal Port Arthur counts to Michipicoten gives 1,454 + 332 = 1,786, and $7,144.00 = 1,786 × $4. Smaller second figures marked "a" appear under five of the Port Arthur counts (8, 20, 66, 13 and 35). A separate 1898 chiefs page (C-7169 image 525) prints $38.00 paid to the chiefs of the several bands; that $38.00 is not a line on the Port Arthur recap. The 1898 Sault recap also lists Garden River and Batchewana, which are not included in this Superior total. No other Lake Superior band for 1898 was found off the Port Arthur recap. The Auditor General vote detail remains a combined Lakes Huron and Superior figure and is not a Superior-only total. Leaf-sum differences for the Port Arthur bands are noted below the table.
1899	Combined Port Arthur Agency and Michipicoten recaps, amount payable (on the lists): $7,880.00	1,970 (number on the pay-lists; 1,636 + 334)	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a rate on the recaps)	$4.00 ($7,880.00 ÷ 1,970, on the lists)	$167 in 2025	n/a (no single printed Superior census total is used as a divisor here)	$329,966 in 2025	; ;	This $7,880.00 is the sum of two official recaps, not a single printed all-Superior form: the Port Arthur Agency recap, amount payable $6,544.00 for 1,636 persons (C-7169 image 549, volume page 109, signed by J.F. Hodder; amount paid $6,268.00, $276.00 returned for absentees) plus the Michipicoten recap, amount payable $1,336.00 for 334 persons on the Sault Ste. Marie Agency form for the year ended June 1899 (C-7169 image 306, RG 10 vol. 9509, volume page 65, signed by William Van Abbott; amount paid $1,296.00, $40.00 returned for absentees). Combined amount paid $7,564.00 and $316.00 returned for absentees; $7,880.00 ÷ 1,970 = $4.00. The Michipicoten recap includes members paid at Missanabie (Brunswick House) and at Chapleau. Garden River, Batchewana and Agawa appear in the same Sault volume and are not included in this Superior total. No other Lake Superior band for 1899 was found off the Port Arthur recap. The Auditor General vote detail remains a combined Lakes Huron and Superior figure and is not a Superior-only total. Per-band payable, paid and absentee amounts are in the recap table below. Leaf-sum differences for the Port Arthur bands are noted there.
1900	Combined Port Arthur Agency and Michipicoten recaps, amount payable (on the lists): $7,820.00	1,955 (number on the pay-lists; 1,624 + 331)	$4 (rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875; not printed as a rate on the recaps)	$4.00 ($7,820.00 ÷ 1,955, on the lists)	$161 in 2025	n/a (no single printed Superior census total is used as a divisor here)	$314,424 in 2025	; ;	This $7,820.00 is the sum of two official recaps, not a single printed all-Superior form: the Port Arthur Agency recap, amount payable $6,496.00 for 1,624 persons (C-7169 image 578, volume page 138, signed by J.F. Hodder; amount paid $6,096.00, $400.00 returned for absentees) plus the Michipicoten recap, amount payable $1,324.00 for 331 persons on the Sault Ste. Marie Agency form for 1900 (C-7169 image 331, RG 10 vol. 9509, volume page 85, signed by William Van Abbott; amount paid $1,304.00, $20.00 returned for absentees). Combined amount paid $7,400.00 and $420.00 returned for absentees; $7,820.00 ÷ 1,955 = $4.00. Garden River, Batchewana and Agawa appear in the same Sault volume and are not included in this Superior total. No other Lake Superior band for 1900 was found off the Port Arthur recap. The Auditor General vote detail remains a combined Lakes Huron and Superior figure and is not a Superior-only total. Per-band payable, paid and absentee amounts are in the recap table below. Leaf-sum differences for the Port Arthur bands are noted there.

The columns are as follows. Total paid is a printed Superior-only amount, or is clearly labelled when the figure is a Port Arthur Agency recap, a combined Port Arthur and Michipicoten recap total, or a "Distribution" line not expressly named Robinson treaty annuities. The 1898–1900 year-table amounts are combined from the Port Arthur Agency recap and the Michipicoten recap on the Sault Ste. Marie Agency volume; they are not taken from a single printed all-Superior form. Persons paid is a printed number of persons paid only; it is never inferred from a dollar total. The 1899 and 1900 combined figures (1,970 and 1,955) are the sums of the printed numbers on the two pay-list recaps (Port Arthur 1,636 + Michipicoten 334, and 1,624 + 331). The 1898 combined 1,928 is the Port Arthur printed "Number Paid" / "the number paid this year" (1,596, written over a struck 1,454) plus the Michipicoten number paid (332). Printed rate per head is the treaty cap or the $4 rate fixed by the Order in Council of 22 July 1875, cited only as a printed or in-force rate, not computed from the totals; pre-1875 rates appear only if printed. Per person paid is total paid ÷ persons paid, computed only where both figures are printed for the same year and scope (1896: $8,288 ÷ 2,072 = $4.00; 1899 and 1900 combined recaps: $7,880 ÷ 1,970 and $7,820 ÷ 1,955 = $4.00 on the lists). It is not computed for 1898, because $7,144.00 is not $4 × the combined printed 1,928. Modern equivalent of per person paid applies {{Inflation}} with index CA to that per-person figure. Per head of population (derived) is the Superior-only printed total ÷ that year's printed Superior census or pay-list population, only where both are printed; it is a derived figure, not a payment rate, and per-band tables are not summed (the 1885–86 narrative totals of 1,667 and 1,698 are not used here, because they exclude Michipicoten while the payment accounts are not similarly limited). Cells are marked n/a where an input is missing. No figure in the table is an estimate.

Port Arthur Agency and Michipicoten recaps, 1898–1900

The official pay-list recaps for the Port Arthur Agency in these years cover Fort William, Red Rock, Nepigon (spelled that way on the forms), Pays Plat, Pic and Long Lake. Michipicoten (also entered as Big Head or Michipicoten on the Sault volume) was paid under the Sault Ste. Marie Agency and is not a line on the Port Arthur recaps. Its official figures are taken from the Michipicoten recaps in LAC RG 10 volume 9509 (Héritage reel C-7169), certified or signed by William Van Abbott. Garden River, Batchewana and Agawa appear in the same Sault volume; they are not included in the Superior totals below. No other Lake Superior band for these years was found off the Port Arthur recaps. The combined rows add only the six Port Arthur bands and Michipicoten; they are sums of two official recaps, not a single printed all-Superior form. The 1898 Port Arthur heading is simply "Recapitulation of Pay-Lists." (volume page 86); the 1898 Sault recap that carries the Michipicoten line is also headed "Recapitulation of Pay-Lists," with 1898 written in, on volume page 44. The 1899 and 1900 forms split amount payable (on the list), amount paid, and the amount returned to the Department for absentees. The 1898 forms print number paid and amount paid only. Figures below are taken from those recap images.

Year	Band	Persons	Amount payable (on the list)	Amount paid	Returned for absentees
1898	Fort William	245	$980.00	not split on this recap
1898	Red Rock	198	$792.00	not split on this recap
1898	Nepigon	465	$1,860.00	not split on this recap
1898	Pays Plat	46	$184.00	not split on this recap
1898	Pic	211	$844.00	not split on this recap
1898	Long Lake	289	$1,156.00	not split on this recap
1898	Port Arthur recap total	1,596	$5,816.00	not split on this recap
1898	Michipicoten	332	$1,328.00	not split on this recap
1898	Combined (Port Arthur + Michipicoten)	1,928	$7,144.00	not split on these recaps
1899	Fort William	309	$1,236.00	$1,184.00	$52.00
1899	Red Rock	218	$872.00	$872.00	—
1899	Nepigon	524	$2,096.00	$1,920.00	$176.00
1899	Pays Plat	49	$196.00	$196.00	—
1899	Pic	218	$872.00	$864.00	$8.00
1899	Long Lake	318	$1,272.00	$1,232.00	$40.00
1899	Port Arthur recap total	1,636	$6,544.00	$6,268.00	$276.00
1899	Michipicoten	334	$1,336.00	$1,296.00	$40.00
1899	Combined (Port Arthur + Michipicoten)	1,970	$7,880.00	$7,564.00	$316.00
1900	Fort William	308	$1,232.00	$1,212.00	$20.00
1900	Red Rock	217	$868.00	$856.00	$12.00
1900	Nepigon	518	$2,072.00	$1,816.00	$256.00
1900	Pays Plat	47	$188.00	$188.00	—
1900	Pic	217	$868.00	$820.00	$48.00
1900	Long Lake	317	$1,268.00	$1,204.00	$64.00
1900	Port Arthur recap total	1,624	$6,496.00	$6,096.00	$400.00
1900	Michipicoten	331	$1,324.00	$1,304.00	$20.00
1900	Combined (Port Arthur + Michipicoten)	1,955	$7,820.00	$7,400.00	$420.00

The 1898 Port Arthur recap total of 1,596 persons is the inked "Number Paid" figure (and "the number paid this year" in the statistical note). It is written over a struck 1,454, which is the sum of the six principal band counts in the table. Smaller second figures marked "a" appear under five of those counts (8, 20, 66, 13 and 35). The 1898 Port Arthur amount total is $5,816.00. The 1898 chiefs page (C-7169 image 525) prints a further $38.00, which is not a line on the recap. The 1898 Michipicoten line is 332 persons paid and $1,328.00, on the Sault Ste. Marie Agency recap (volume page 44); $1,328.00 = 332 × $4. Combined printed person-counts are 1,596 + 332 = 1,928, and the combined amount is $7,144.00. That combined amount equals $4 × 1,786 (the six Port Arthur principal counts plus Michipicoten), not $4 × 1,928.

The 1899 Michipicoten recap (volume page 65) prints 334 persons on the list, $1,336.00 payable, $1,296.00 paid and $40.00 returned for absentees. That total is internally consistent ($1,336.00 = 334 × $4 = $1,296.00 + $40.00) and matches the closing total on the Michipicoten pay-list (C-7169 image 305, volume page 64). The same recap splits the total among payments at Michipicoten, at Missanabie (Brunswick House) and at Chapleau. The 1900 Michipicoten recap (volume page 85) prints 331 persons, $1,324.00 payable, $1,304.00 paid and $20.00 returned for absentees ($1,324.00 = 331 × $4 = $1,304.00 + $20.00), matching the closing total on the pay-list (C-7169 image 330, volume page 84).

Sums taken from the individual paylist leaves, excluding brought-forward-only certification pages and without adding running printed totals, sometimes differ from these recap figures. For 1898, the leaf sums are Fort William $976 (recap $980), Red Rock $796 (recap $792), Nipigon $1,860 (match), Pays Plat $184 (match), Pic $861 (recap $844) and Long Lake $1,184 (recap $1,156). For 1899, compared with amount paid, the leaf sums are Fort William $1,184 (match), Red Rock $872 (match), Nipigon $1,912 (paid $1,920), Pays Plat $196 (match), Pic $868 (paid $864) and Long Lake $1,260 (paid $1,232). For 1900, compared with amount payable, the leaf sums are Fort William $1,232 and Red Rock $868 when C-7169 images 553, 555 and 559 are included (those three leaves sit in the 1900 block and complete the running totals, but their transcribed dates are 1890); Nipigon $2,016 (recap $2,072 payable / $1,816 paid); Pays Plat $188 (match); Pic $856 (recap $868 payable / $820 paid); and Long Lake $1,268 (matches amount payable; $64 above amount paid). Images 574–576 (arrears, absentees and refunds) and 577 (a money received-and-paid statement) are not included in the 1900 band recap table. No named-recipient tables are added here.

Population by band

From 1885 the annual reports print a census table for the "Ojibbewas of Lake Superior" by band. These are census or tabular population figures, not a printed number of persons paid, and they are not used to fill the "Persons paid" column above. Band names are given under a consistent heading; the printed spelling sometimes varies (for example Lake Nepigon / Nipegon / Nipigon, and several spellings of Michipicoten and Big Heads, including an apparent typographical error "Michipicotopn" in 1894). Three extracted figures are flagged in the source table as uncertain in the OCR and are marked with a dagger.

Year	Fort William	Red Rock	Lake Nipigon	Pays Plat	Pic River	Long Lake	Michipicoten and Big Heads	Sum of these columns	Source
1885	402	166	476	45	245	333	295	1,962
1886	429	168	462	50	257	332	306	2,004
1887	436	195	464	56	243	346†	319	2,059
1888	419	215	485	38	255	330	325	2,067
1889	378	207	501	55	264	338	322	2,065
1890	350	205	514	55	279	345	327	2,075
1891	359	203	513	53	253	357†	327	2,065
1892	371†	201	520	52	260	328	319	2,051
1893	368	200	534	52	247	337	326	2,064
1894	367	203	537	55	248	341	328	2,079
1895	377	205	529	57	252	336	334	2,090
1896	394	215	532	56	251	340	339	2,127
1897	380	211	398	53	166	248	321	1,777
1898	245	198	465	46	211	289	332	1,786
1899	309	218	524	49	218	318	332	1,968
1900	308	217	518	47	217	317	331	1,955

† Extract flagged as OCR-uncertain in the source table: 1887 Long Lake (346); 1891 Long Lake (357); 1892 Fort William (371).

The 1885 report states that the "Chippewas of Lake Superior" numbered 1,667. The 1885 narrative total of 1,667 equals the sum of that year's per-band table excluding Michipicoten and Big Head. The 1886 report states that the "Ojibbewas of Lake Superior" numbered 1,698.

The 1858 Pennefather commission report also gives "at present" counts for some Lake Superior bands, which are likewise not a printed number of persons paid. No complete Lake Superior census total is printed there, the Lake Nipigon figure is given as "about 430," and Long Lake is mentioned only as three families attending at Michipicoton. These figures are therefore listed separately, without a summed total:

Year	Band	Chief	Persons	As printed
1858 ("at present")	Fort William	Joseph Peau-de-chat	256	"The number of Indians occupying this Reserve is at present 256."
1858 ("at present")	Michipicoton	Totomenai	169	"This Band now consists of 41 families containing 169 individuals"; of these, 11 families (52 persons) are of mixed descent, 2 families claim only through a Canadian father married to a woman of the Band, and "Six families seem to be Whites, and to be borne on the Rolls by mistake."
1858 ("at present")	Lake Nipigon	Mishe-muchqua	about 430	"These Indians number about 430." The word "about" is in the source; this is not an exact count.
1858 ("at present")	Pic River	not named	138	"About the Pic River 30 families of 138 individuals still occupy their old hunting grounds."
1858 ("at present")	Long Lake	not named	not printed	"Three families too from Long Lake come annually to Michipicoton to receive their money." No band total is printed.

Earlier printed census or pay-list headcounts for the Chippewas or Ojibwe of Lake Superior, which are likewise not a printed number of persons paid, include:

Year	Persons	As printed	Source
1863	1,070	census / tabular population
1864	1,242	census / tabular population
1868	1,263	census / tabular population (remark: "No Returns for 1868"; treat as a carried-forward figure)
1869	1,263	census / tabular population
1870	1,502	as enumerated on the pay lists
1869	1,475	as enumerated on the pay lists
1871	1,453	census / tabular population
1872	1,312	census / tabular population
1873	1,312	census / tabular population
1874	1,488	census / tabular population
1875	1,488	census / tabular population
1876	1,875	census / tabular population
1877	1,846	census / tabular population
1878	1,947	census / tabular population
1880	1,613	census / tabular population
1881	1,782	census / tabular population
1882	1,848	census / tabular population
1883	1,883	census / tabular population
1879	not recorded (extract unreliable)	census / tabular population

Named recipients

The manuscript annuity paylists are in Library and Archives Canada RG 10 and are online as page images on Héritage Canadiana reels C-7167, C-7168 and C-7169 (volumes 9497–9515). Typed volume indexes for the Lake Superior bands have been read on those reels, including the Port Arthur Agency index for 1896–1900 in volume 9510, which lists Fort William, Red Rock, Nipigon, Pays Plat, Pic, Long Lake, "Chief of above Bands," absentees and arrears, and a recapitulation. The names and amounts on the paylist pages themselves are handwritten and are not tabulated on this article. A printed recap form for 1896 (volume page 30) also has handwritten totals, which have not been copied. The official Port Arthur Agency recaps for 1898 (C-7169 image 526), 1899 (image 549) and 1900 (image 578, volume page 138) have been read and are entered in the yearly table and in the recap section above as agency figures, not as all-Superior totals.

A few names already appear in the printed annual-report accounts, independently of the paylists. The 1896 account records arrears of annuities for 1894 paid to Joseph Maquay (three persons, $12.00) and to Joseph Collins (four persons, $16.00). Paying officers named in the Superior accounts include J. P. Donnelly, William Van Abbott, and, from 1898, J.F. Hodder. The 1890 account also records travelling expenses for Chief A. Banan.

After 1900

The annuity has remained at $4 per person per year since the 1875 increase, and continues to be paid by Indigenous Services Canada at treaty payment events to registered persons affiliated with a Robinson-Superior First Nation.

On 26 July 2024, in Ontario (Attorney General) v. Restoule, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the Crown's failure to implement the treaty's augmentation promise was a longstanding breach, and directed the Crown to negotiate compensation for past breaches with the Superior plaintiffs, or, if no settlement was reached, to set an amount itself within six months, subject to court review. The Robinson-Huron Treaty plaintiffs had already settled their claim for past compensation for $10 billion, a settlement approved by the Ontario Superior Court on 26 February 2024.

Those negotiations did not produce an agreement. On 27 January 2025, Canada and Ontario set compensation for past breaches at $3.6 billion ($1.8 billion from each government) and each committed a further $20 million toward costs, for a total of $40 million, pending agreement or assessment. During the talks the Superior plaintiffs made an on-the-record counteroffer of $35.696 billion, exclusive of costs; in the 2023 compensation stage of the trial they had claimed $126.285 billion as at 2020. On 27 February 2026, Justice Patricia Hennessy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that the Crown's exercise of discretion in setting the $3.6 billion amount "falls within the range of honourable results." The Robinson-Superior First Nations are appealing that decision to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. The $3.6 billion figure is compensation for past breaches; how, and by how much, the annuity is to be increased in future years remains to be settled under the Crown's continuing duty to consider augmentation when it can do so without incurring a loss.