There are moments in history that linger in the collective memory of a people. For the Métis of Northwestern Ontario, one of those moments happened 150 years ago this month with the “Halfbreeds of Rainy River and Lake” signing an Adhesion to Treaty 3.
As Canada expanded westward following Confederation, the Crown’s policy was to only negotiate treaties with “Indians.” The “Halfbreed” communities the Crown encountered on the land during this period were excluded from treaty-making, despite their requests to have their own unique rights and interests dealt with.
The one exception to this exclusion occurred in northwestern Ontario. On September 12, 1875, Métis leader Nicolas Chatelaine and Canadian officials signed our Adhesion. This is the only place where a distinct Métis collective adhered to a historic treaty.
Throughout the summer, the actual signed Adhesion has been touring northwestern Ontario. It is in Fort Frances until September 26th, and I encourage everyone to come and see this historic document for yourself. It is a part of our shared history. And this part of our history is not yet fully understood or appreciated.
While in today’s age of reconciliation, we use more appropriate terms to describe the Indigenous peoples in this region (i.e., the “Indians” are First Nations or the Anishinaabe and the “Halbreeds” are the Métis), the actual words used in our Adhesion are important. For example, in 1874, Canada signed an “Adhesion of Lac Seul Indians.” Our 1875 Adhesion is different. It was signed with Halfbreeds, not Indians.
The text of our Adhesion is clear. It says Métis “shall receive compensation in the way of reserves of land, payments, annuities and presents, in manner similar to that set forth in the several respects for the Indians in the said treaty.” We were to be treated “similar” to Indians, but we weren’t Indians. Nor were we just mixed ancestry Anishinaabe.
Moreover, our distinctiveness – as a Métis community – is beyond dispute. In 1874, here’s how an outsider described what he saw: “[t]here are at Fort Francis from fifteen to twenty whites, several half breeds, and a large number of Indians…the half-breed…wearing a peculiar dress…still retaining a strong inclination for the precarious life of the hunter.” The historic record is full of these kinds of accounts of our distinctiveness as Métis.
Anishnaabe Chiefs also knew who we were, that we were distinct and that we were not under their leadership. In 1873, when Treaty 3 was signed, the Chiefs thanked the Métis for their support in the negotiations and urged Canada to deal with us. In 1875, two Chiefs attended when Chatelaine signed the Halfbreed Adhesion to Treaty 3.
Truth and reconciliation does not just have to happen between Indigenous peoples and other Canadians. It needs to happen between Indigenous peoples, too. In 1876, the Indian Act drove a knife into the promise of our Adhesion. Federal officials ignored what the Adhesion said and told our ancestors they either had to become “Indians” to benefit from Treaty 3 or they would be treated as “white”. There was no longer a place for us as Métis.
This unilateral policy change breached the express words of our Adhesion and the honour of the Crown. In 1878, Chatelaine himself applied for Halfbreed scrip because Canada was breaking its “promises” in the Adhesion. Today, these unilateral Crown decisions from 1876 continue to harm us and ignore the words in the Adhesion. While some Métis in the region joined Bands, our Métis community remains.
In 2017, our community entered into an agreement with Canada, aimed at moving us towards reconciliation – including addressing our outstanding Métis claim. As a part of this work, we need to educate our citizens, our Anishnaabe kin and others on our story. We also want to be clear: we do not seek any reserve lands from Couchiching First Nation or any First Nation in Treaty 3. Nor do we seek to take anything away from our kin.
Our existence, Adhesion and distinctiveness as Métis in this region are a part of northwestern Ontario’s true history. By sharing our story, we are advancing truth and reconciliation. The Métis born of this place are not a footnote, or a question mark. We are a people that aren’t going anywhere. And the promises made to us, even broken ones, do not expire.
Theresa Stenlund is descendant of the “Halfbreeds of Rainy River and Lake” who signed an Adhesion to Treaty 3 in 1875 (McPherson/Morrisseau family) and the Regional Councilor for the Northwestern Ontario Métis Community. For more information about the Adhesion and this Métis community visit: www.nwomc.ca.
